Piston Cup: All Stars Series
by CarsWorldFan
Summary: After the events of Cars 3, Lightning and his friends are given a chance to return to the sport they love. But although they'd love for things to return to how the used to be, they soon learn that the past has to stay where it is. Follow Lightning, Cal, Bobby and Junior as they bravely face a whole new world of Piston Cup racing in the brand new All Stars Series.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Caught in the Act

**Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee - 16 April 2018 **

It was a beautiful, warm spring evening. A full moon lit up the Bristol Motor Speedway, despite the floodlights being turned off for the night. It was hard to believe that just over an hour earlier, the last spectators had left the stadium after watching the Bristol City 500. The racetrack was quiet now. Nearly everyone had turned in for the night. Only a few officials and cleaners were still hanging around behind the scenes. Up in the top of the main grandstand, a light was on in one of the function rooms. That was due to an emergency meeting between the Piston Cup CEO and numerous officials. Normally, meetings wouldn't occur after a full day of racing, but those in attendance all shared the same concern. Ever since the Next-Generation racers had taken over the Piston Cup series, the number of fans had dropped off dramatically. While the numbers were yet to be confirmed, most of the stadiums in the past couple of months had only been about two-thirds full. The meeting had been called to discuss the reasons why, and what they could do about it.

Down on the racetrack, a lone car drove down one of the two deserted pit rows. The Bristol Motor Speedway was just over half a mile long, so the pit row was split into two down the long sides. The lone car was painted in metallic navy-blue paint, but the writing along his sides made him stand out from all angles – Fabulous Lightning McQueen.

It had been two months since Lightning had sacrificed his own racing career to be the crew chief and mentor to his young protégé, Cruz Ramirez. Cruz had won the Bristol City 500 earlier that evening, putting her just ahead of Jackson Storm in the overall points. While Lightning had been thrilled with Cruz's win, deep down, he couldn't help but envy her. He didn't want to be selfish, but he wished with all his heart that it had been him on the winner's podium instead of her. However, he knew that it was physically impossible for him to compete against the Next-Gen racers. Years of having his engine restrained by speed limiters meant that he could no longer reach the same top speeds that he used to be able to reach. Thanks to his childhood condition called Jaguar Syndrome, he used to have a maximum top speed of two-hundred and twenty miles per hour, but now, try as he might, his engine refused to go faster than a hundred and ninety-eight miles per hour. Lightning knew what would happen to him if he tried to push it past that; he'd crash, which was exactly how his season had ended the year before. He was lucky that his crash had looked a lot worse that it had actually been. By a miracle, he'd managed to avoid suffering from any permanent injuries, but psychologically, the crash had left him badly shaken and lacking in self-confidence. His heart was telling him to race, but his mind was telling him not to. If he was truly honest with himself, he knew that his internal confliction was the real reason why he was holding back.

Lightning sighed despondently. He knew that he was putting on an act. His friends and family all thought that he was happy being Cruz's crew chief, but he wasn't. Much as he liked Cruz, he just wished that things could go back to how they were; not just before the Next-Gen racers arrived, but before Doc had died. That was when he'd been truly at his happiest.

Lightning was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't hear another car coming up behind him. Dale Earnhardt Junior, better known as Junior, parked quietly beside Lightning. For a moment, they stared in silence at the banked track beyond pit row. Finally, Junior spoke.

"You miss it, don't you?"

"Yeah," Lightning replied, his voice barely above a whisper. He glanced over at his friend. "I know you miss it too."

Junior nodded. "We'd still be racing if it wasn't for all those new kids."

"I know. I knew we'd be overtaken by rookies one day, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon."

"Me either." Now it was Junior's turn to sigh. "I see that Cal's with your team this weekend."

"Yeah. Strip's trying to encourage him to learn how to be a crew chief, but he doesn't seem to be interested. He's been shadowing me all weekend."

"You really seem to enjoy mentoring Cruz," Junior pointed out.

"I'm only doing it for Cruz's sake. She trusts me."

"That's obvious to everyone. You're great with her."

"She's a great student. At least I can give Storm a kick up the bumper through her. I'd love to do it myself though."

"You're not the only one who feels like that." Junior looked back at the track. "Why are we standing here moaning about what we can't do, when we have the whole racetrack to ourselves? I can call Cal and see if he wants to join us."

Lightning stared at his friend in astonishment. "Junior, we can't!" he whispered. "The officials would be onto us in a flash!"

Junior scoffed. "Everyone's asleep. Come on! I know you're itching to spin a few laps."

Lightning smiled slightly. "Well… Okay. But we'll need racing tyres put on." He started to drive away.

"Where are you going?" Junior asked.

"To wake up a pitty."

Junior chuckled before he dialled Cal's number.

A few minutes later, Lightning snuck into the Dinoco tent, where Cruz's pit crew were sleeping. He gently tapped the closest pitty with his tyre.

"Hey! Psst!" Lightning whispered. The pitty sleepily opened his eyes. Lightning gestured for him to be quiet and to follow him. Begrudgingly, the pitty followed Lightning out of the tent.

"What do you need, Mr McQueen?" the pitty asked.

"Three sets of racing tyres," Lightning whispered.

The pitty hesitated for a moment, but then he went to fetch them.

Meanwhile, up in the grandstand, the meeting had started. The Piston Cup CEO, Justin Swerve, was presiding. Since Strip Weathers was now an official, he we also part of the meeting. There were about twenty cars in the room. Some of them were sipping on cups of coffee to help keep them awake.

"So, what do you think the Next-Gen racers are lacking?" Justin asked the group.

His question was met with silence.

"Come on, guys," Justin pressed.

"I think what's missing is big crashes," an official named Mark Roads answered. "These young kids are terrified of even getting their paint scratched, so they avoid touching each other. The fans are used to seeing rough racing with contact, as long as nobody gets seriously hurt."

"That's a valid point," Justin mused.

"They're dull," a female official named Jennifer Holder said from the far end of the table. "They don't get up to mischief or muck around playing pranks on each other. The fans love that."

"So do the racers," Strip added. "Did, I mean. The previous generation of racers…"

"You mean the rookies that came in after you?" Mark asked.

"Yeah," Strip agreed. "Racers like my nephew, Cal, and Lightning McQueen. Even Chick Hicks made racing exciting, despite his dirty tactics. Personally, I feel that they've been pushed out of the Piston Cup way too soon. Some of the racers that were sacked by their teams weren't even thirty years old. I was well into my forties when I retired."

The officials all nodded in agreement. Even Justin nodded.

"I must admit that the introduction of the Next-Gen racers has been badly handled," he said. "The Piston Cup has suddenly become too regulated, like Formula One. It makes it hard for fans to connect on a personal level with the racers, because they're no longer former stock-standard road cars like them."

"Well, what can we do about it?" Strip asked. "Legally, we can't stop the Next-Gen racers from racing. They comply with all of the rules. I've checked."

Once again, the room fell silent while the officials pondered the problem.

Back down on the track, Lightning and the pitty returned to pit row, to find Cal waiting with Junior. The pitty frowned when he saw them all.

"I really shouldn't be doing this," he muttered as he started to change their tyres. Lightning was worried that the noise of the rattle gun would alert someone, but luckily the pitty worked quickly.

"I'll take all the blame," Lightning reassured him.

"No, I will," Junior insisted. "It was my idea."

"We'll all take the blame," Cal whispered.

The pitty finished changing their tyres. "There! Now, I'm going back to bed."

"Thanks for your help," Lightning said as the pitty drove away.

Junior breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Okay, are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Cal replied enthusiastically.

"We'll do five laps," Junior decided. "Two warm-up laps, and then we'll race for three. Loser buys a round of drinks!"

"Oh, you're on!" Lightning grinned. He promptly floored it as he drove out onto the track. Junior and Cal followed him in hot pursuit.

Although the floodlights were turned off, there was plenty of moonlight for them to see by. Lightning considered turning on his headlights, but remembering his moonshine race with the Legends, he left them off. Thanks to them, he now knew the importance of racing on pure instinct, even if he hadn't had a chance to use that training yet.

Lightning, Junior and Cal tried to be quiet as they drove around on the track, but their engines were still very powerful and noisy. They hadn't yet bothered to have themselves modified back into roadworthy legal cars; they even had their racing computers and black boxes still installed in their engine bays. Before they'd finished their first warm-up lap, they'd attracted the attention of those attending the meeting up in the grandstand. Strip drove over to the window to see who was out on the track. Several other officials joined him.

"Who's breaching curfew?" Justin demanded to know as he also drove over to the window.

"It's too dark to see," Mark replied.

Justin grabbed a pair of binoculars off the table, and he put them on. He zoomed in on the three cars who were racing around on the track. "I think I can make out one of them… Dinoco livery…"

"It can't be Cruz," Strip said. "She was exhausted after today's race."

"The car's too small to be Cruz," Justin pointed out. "I think it's your nephew."

"Cal?" Strip exclaimed with surprise.

"Hold on… I think I can just make out one of the others in the moonlight. Red car… I think it's Earnhardt Junior."

"And the other one?" another official asked.

"His paintwork is too dark. I can just see some white writing on his side…"

"Lightning McQueen!" the officials exclaimed in one voice.

"We'd better go and break them up," Jennifer decided. "They could hurt themselves driving in the dark."

"No, hold on," Justin said. "It looks like they're about to race. I'd like to see it. I think I've got an idea…"

The officials glanced at each other in surprise at Justin's decision, and they also settled down to watch.

Back down on the track, Lightning, Junior and Cal had finished their warm-up laps and they started to line up three abreast as they approached the start/finish line.

"Ready?" Junior asked.

"Set?" Cal added.

"Go!" Lightning shouted as they crossed over the start/finish line in unison. Caught up in the excitement of racing, they immediately forgot all about being quiet. The three of them floored their engines as they accelerated around the first corner. Naturally, Junior took the lead, while Lightning took his favourite racing line at the top of the track. Cal fell into Junior's slipstream. He was good at drafting, so he was happy to sit behind everyone for the duration of a race.

Lightning came down off the bank and he accelerated onto the back-straight bumper-to-bumper with Junior. Their racing styles were so different, but even though they hadn't raced together for almost a year, they naturally found their old rhythms.

For the next lap and a half, the three former racers stayed comfortably in their racing formation, waiting for one of them to pounce. Cal was the first to jump. He dropped down below Junior, using a slingshot movement to move up alongside him. Junior, realising that he was too late to block Cal, accelerated. While the two of them battled it out in a speed-dual, Lightning used the gravity coming down off the corners to give him some extra speed. As they came out of the final turn of the three-lap race, Lightning managed to come down from the final corner at a blistering pace, easily overtaking Junior and Cal, who were now rubbing paint and arguing loudly. Lightning shot across the finish line two lengths ahead of them.

"Yeah!" he cheered enthusiastically.

"That was your fault, Cal!" Junior shouted as he and Cal crossed the finish line, still bumping into each other. "If you hadn't tangled with me, I could've beaten Lightning."

"You didn't have to try and block me!" Cal retorted.

At that moment, the floodlights came on. Lightning was decelerating when they came on, and he squinted, momentarily blinded by the bright LED lights.

"Uh oh!" Junior exclaimed.

"We've been caught!" Cal added. "What do we do?"

"Hide!" Lightning yelped.

In a flash, all three cars made a dive for the infield. Lightning and Cal bolted for the Dinoco camp, while Junior parked in the shadows behind the pit row wall. Within seconds, the entire infield was completely silent. After a few minutes, the floodlights were turned off, leaving the racetrack lit only by moonlight once again.

Down in the Dinoco camp, Lightning and Cal waited silently for a few more minutes before they peeked out from behind Cruz's trailer. Lightning breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Bloody hell! That was close!" he whispered.

"Too close!" Cal agreed. "I guess we'd better turn in for the night. Where'd Junior go?"

A shadow moved towards them between two trailers.

"Junior?" Lightning whispered hopefully. He turned on his headlights. The car approaching them wasn't Junior. It was Strip!

"Argh!" Lightning and Cal screamed in unison. Strip drove over to them and he slammed his front tyres over their mouths.

"Keep it down, will you?" Strip hissed. "Are you trying to wake everyone up? It's after midnight!"

"Sorry, Strip!" Lightning gasped when Strip removed his tyres. "You scared us!"

"We thought you were Junior," Cal added.

"Do I look like Junior?" Strip asked rhetorically. "At least I know for sure that it was definitely you three out on the track just now."

Lightning and Cal cringed sheepishly.

"We can explain that…" Lightning began.

Strip held up a tyre. "Go to bed. Both of you. We'll deal with this in the morning."

Lightning and Cal exchanged confused glances.

"Okay," Lightning replied with a shrug. "Goodnight, Strip. Cal."

"Goodnight, Lightning," Strip and Cal replied in unison.

Lightning drove over to his trailer and he reversed inside it. Although the outside of the trailer was now painted in a blend of Dinoco and Rust-Eze sponsors' art, the interior was still much the same as it had been in Lightning's racing days. He hadn't had the heart to change anything. After he'd closed the ramp, Lightning turned on the overhead disco lights. They changed colour every few seconds, filling the trailer in a soft, colourful glow. With a heavy sigh, Lightning fluffed up his favourite pillow before he settled down on it to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 2 – A Sparkplug of Hope

**Bristol Motor Speedway, Tennessee - 17 April, 2018**

The following morning, Lightning was awoken by someone knocking on his trailer. He groaned sleepily when he heard Cruz's voice outside.

"You'd better get up, Lightning, or you'll miss out on breakfast!"

Although Lightning was hungry, he was also tired and a bit stiff after his impromptu sprint with Junior and Cal the night before, so he settled back down on his pillow to get another forty winks. Ten minutes later, Lightning was disturbed again. This time, he was woken by the familiar beeping sound of someone keying his trailer's security code into the external keypad to unlock it. Groaning sleepily again, he pulled his pillow tighter under himself as his trailer's ramp was lowered. Tex Dinoco, the team's owner, cleared his throat when he saw that Lightning was still half-asleep.

"What time is it?" Lightning asked groggily.

"Eight-thirty," Tex replied he drove up the ramp. He stopped directly in front of Lightning. "Are you feelin' okay? I know you're not a morning person, but you don't normally sleep in this late."

"I'm fine," Lightning muttered. "Just had a late night, that's all."

Tex scoffed. "That's an understatement! I've been talkin' to Strip. He told me all about your little race last night."

Lightning cringed, and he looked down at the floor. "I'm really sorry about that, Tex. I… The temptation got the better of me, and…well…"

"You're just lucky that Justin Swerve was keen to see the three of you race."

Lightning looked up at Tex, surprised. "He knows about it?"

"All of the officials know about it. They were watchin' you from a function room in the grandstand. From the sound of it, you guys put on quite a show."

"I wouldn't say that…" Lightning said humbly. "We only had a short sprint." His tank growled hungrily. Hearing it, Tex chuckled softly.

"Sounds like you need to hurry up an' have breakfast while there's still some left. Oh, an' Justin wants to see you an' Cal in his office at nine."

Lightning was surprised. "Justin wants to see us? Not the disciplinary committee?"

"He requested you both by name," Tex confirmed. "In writin'."

Lightning sighed heavily. "Guess I'd better get ready to face the music. Sorry, Tex."

"We'll talk 'bout apologies after you've met with the CEO. Be prepared for 'im to come down hard on you though. Oh, an' you might want to change outta those racin' tyres before you leave our area. We're tryin' to keep last night's incident quiet."

"Sure, Tex. I'll do that right now."

Lightning sighed as he watched Tex reverse out of his trailer and drive away. He put his pillow away before he also drove out of his trailer. Almost immediately, he overheard a group of three Next-Gen racers chatting nearby.

"Did you get woken up by all the noise last night?"

"A bit. I was exhausted after the race though. What was it?"

"I'm not really sure. It sounded like someone mucking around on the track."

"Really? I wonder who it was?"

"You know, if he wasn't retired, I'd swear I heard Lightning McQueen out there."

"And how could yah tell?"

"Simple. I watched all of his races ever since I was a kid. I could pick the sound of his engine out from any crowd."

"Well, whoever it was, I hope they get caught and have the book thrown at them. It's cheating to practice after curfew."

Lightning scoffed and he rolled his eyes. At least none of the racers seemed to know just who had been out on the track. Lightning found a pitty, who discreetly swapped Lightning's racing tyres for road ones. A few minutes later, Lightning joined the rest of the Dinoco team inside their tent for breakfast. One of the advantages of being part of such a large team meant that they had their own cook as part of their support crew. Their cook was also one of the team's nutritionists, so most of the meals he cooked were exactly what the whole team needed to keep themselves fit and healthy, no matter what their role.

Once Lightning had selected the food and drink that he wanted, he drove over to the table where Cal and Cruz were parked. Like Lightning, Cal was no longer wearing racing tyres.

"Morning guys," Lightning greeted them.

"Morning, Lightning," Cal and Cruz replied together.

"It's about time you got up," Cruz added. She smirked mischievously at her crew chief. "I guess you're starting to slow down in other areas besides racing."

Cruz barely had the words out of her mouth when something warm and sticky landed directly on her windscreen, right between her eyes. Now it was Lightning's turn to smirk. The maple-syrup coated pancake he'd just thrown at her made her look like she had three eyes. Those who saw what had just happened immediately started oohing and jeering.

"Honestly, Cruz, can't I sleep in for a few extra hours occasionally without getting your snide remarks about old age?"

"You know that one of the first signs of old age is becoming sensitive to the subject," Dr Seamus Ford, the team's doctor commented.

Another sticky pancake promptly flew across the tent. Dr Ford managed to duck just in time. Unfortunately, Strip chose that moment to drive into the tent directly behind Dr Ford. The pancake landed right on top of Strip's hood, syrup side down.

"WHO THREW THAT?" Strip bellowed.

Everyone immediately pointed at Lightning. Strip glowered at him.

"Hey, Cruz started it!" Lightning protested.

"Ladies do not start fights, but they can finish them!*" Cruz retorted, earning an eruption of laughter from almost everyone.

"But you're not a lady!" Cal pointed out. Cruz retorted by thumping him on the side with her tyre. "Ow!"

Strip shook the pancake off his hood. "That's it! Lightning and Cal, if you've finished your breakfast, you know where you need to go. The rest of you can start packing up our camp, so we can hit the road at eleven."

Lightning gulped down what was left of his breakfast. He then followed Cal out of the tent.

…

Shortly before nine o'clock, Lightning, Cal and Tex arrived outside Justin's office. Lightning and Cal weren't surprised to find Junior already waiting there. Junior raised an eyebrow when he saw his friends approaching.

"You two as well, huh?"

"Yeah," Cal said, pouting. "My uncle's already given me a lecture, and Tex gave one to Lightning."

Lightning shook his front. "This is all your fault, Junior. I knew we'd get caught."

Junior gave him a friendly nudge on the fender. "Admit it. You did enjoy it, so it was worth it, right?"

Before Lightning could answer, Justin's secretary, a dark red female Chevrolet Corvette C5 coupe, opened the office door. "You three may go in there now. I'm afraid you're going to have to wait out here, Mr Dinoco."

"I was gonna anyway," Tex said. He parked himself in a corner. He had only tagged along because he wanted to be the first to know the results of the meeting.

Inside the office, Lightning, Cal and Junior parked themselves in front of Justin's desk. He waited until they were settled and alone before he began.

"I suppose you know why I've called you three here this morning?" Justin asked sternly.

Lightning nodded, answering for them all. "Yes, it was us out there on the track last night."

"But it was my idea," Junior added.

"We all agreed to race each other though," Cal said. "We're sorry we broke the rules."

Justin nodded thoughtfully. "I'm prepared to accept your apology on one condition."

"And what's that?" Lightning asked with an air of trepidation.

Justin leaned forward. "You tell me who won the race."

Lightning, Cal and Junior glanced at each other in surprise.

"Lightning won," Cal answered.

"I would've won if you hadn't got in my way," Junior grumbled.

Lightning scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Keep telling yourself that, Junior, if it helps you feel better. Just in case you didn't notice, I did cross the finish line first."

Justin's smile turned into a grin. "All right, settle down. I only asked because I couldn't quite see the finish line from where I was watching. But that's not why I've called you here today. I've had an idea that I'd like to bounce off you. You see, last night, I was having a very important emergency meeting with the officials, when you three disrupted us. We were discussing why the Piston Cup is going through a slump, and what we could do to spice it up again for the fans. While we were watching you race, I developed the germ of an idea. I know that you three weren't the only racecars from your generation who were forced to retire before you were ready. And, the fans know it. They're losing interest because the Next-Gen racers aren't giving them what they want."

"What do the fans want?" Junior wondered.

"It's our understanding that they want racers like you back on the track. You guys are an inspiration to them, because you all started life as stock-standard road cars, just like them. You're also fun, exciting and most importantly, down-to-earth. I know that some of you started your racing careers on the wrong wheel… Yes, I am looking at you, Lightning…"

Lightning cringed, and Cal nudged him playfully.

"Here's my idea," Justin continued. "If we're able to create a new racing series for next year, would you be interested in racing in it?"

"Heck, yeah!" Cal promptly replied.

Lightning frowned thoughtfully. "What kind of racing series?"

"The officials and I discussed it a bit last night, after we frightened you off the track," Justin answered. "Sorry we disturbed your fun. I sent Strip to go and find you so we could talk, but he told us that he'd decided that you'd already disturbed everyone enough, so he'd sent you to bed. Anyway, we still need to come up with a name for the series. We have decided that it will be for former racers who are no longer capable of competing in the Piston Cup, but who want to keep on racing. Since the series will be a support category, we'll most likely schedule most of the races for Saturday nights instead of Sunday nights, to avoid clashing with the Piston Cup. I don't think any of your fans would care about that though. So, what do you say? Are you interested?"

Lightning and Junior exchanged grins.

"Absolutely!" Lightning replied.

"Me too," Junior added. "We can't explain just how much we miss racing, so we'll take any opportunities offered to us."

"It sounds like it would be perfect for us," Cal said.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say. Please, keep this under your hoods for now. I'll let you know more about the series once I know if it's definitely going ahead. Don't get too excited yet though. It may be at least another six to eight months before we've sorted everything out. Now, off you go. I know your teams will be wanting to leave for Richmond shortly."

"Thank you, sir," Junior said graciously.

Cal hesitated. "Wait… You mean, you're not going to fine us for being out on the track last night?"

Lightning gave Cal a push towards the door. "Don't push your luck, Cal!"

"I can fine you if you want, Cal," Justin teased.

Lightning and Junior burst out laughing as the three of them left the office. Tex drove over to them.

"Well? What happened in there?" he asked.

Lightning immediately plastered a serious expression on his face. "Oh, we have to pay a five hundred thousand dollar fine for being on the track after curfew."

"Each," Junior added, catching on.

"What?" Tex exclaimed, shocked.

Lightning couldn't hold his poker face any longer, and he started giggling again. Cal shook his front.

"They're just pulling your tailpipe, Tex," Cal said. "We didn't get fined."

Tex breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Good, because you would've been payin' for it outta your own pockets." He gave Lightning a gentle swat across his left-hand fender. "Save your goofin' for when you're with Mater."

"Sure, Tex," Lightning replied, still giggling. "Boy, did I have you there!"

Tex shook his front in disbelief, but it was hard for him to hide the smile on his bumper. "Okay, Lightning an' Cal. Go an' get yourselves packed up. I want us to hit the road no later than eleven o'clock, understood?"

Lightning and Cal responded by driving away down the hallway singing, rather badly, 'Hit the Road Jack.'. Tex rolled his eyes before he followed them.

"I'll see you at Richmond!" Junior called out after them.

…

Three hours later, team Dinoco / Rust-Eze was on the road heading towards the next racetrack in Virginia. There were six transporters in the convoy – the first carried Tex and Dr Ford, the second carried Strip and Linda Weathers, the third carried Cal, the fourth (hauled by Mack) carried Lightning, and the final two transporters carried the pit crew, support crew and supplies.

Lightning had just turned off his TV after watching a movie, when his in-trailer sat-phone rang. Seeing the caller ID come up as Sally, Lighting pressed the button to answer it.

"Hello beautiful!"

Sally giggled. "_Hey Stickers! I just thought I'd phone to see if you're at the next racetrack yet._"

"Not yet. We're near the state border between Tennessee and Virginia. We should arrive in Richmond in about two hours."

"_Well, at least you have a short trip this time. I really miss travelling to races with you._"

Lightning sighed longingly. "I know… I miss having you with me too. How are things going in Radiator Springs?"

"_Pretty good. I've almost finished the expansion to the Cozy Cone, no thanks to Mater. He tried to help, but he ended up getting his tow hook caught up in a tree. Guido had to use an extendable saw to cut the branch off so he could get untangled._"

Lightning chuckled. "I wish I could've been there to see it."

"_You could, you know,_" Sally said seriously.

"I know. But the team needs me too. Anyway, how's Blaze?"

"_Hyper. Ever since he discovered how to drive, Gracie has had to chase him everywhere!_"

Lightning chuckled again. "I'll bet she's just grateful that he doesn't have Jaguar Syndrome like me though, right?"

"_I've actually heard her say that you weren't quite as bad as Blaze is, most of the time._"

This time, Lightning let out a hearty laugh. "I guess we'll just have to take her word for it! Either that, or she's got a bad memory. Could I talk to Blaze, please?"

"_Sure. I'll just call him. Blaze! Daddy's on the phone!_"

Lightning smiled when he heard his two-year-old son's engine approaching the phone.

"_Hello, dada!_" Blaze said in his adorable baby voice.

"Hey, sport," Lightning replied. "Are you being a good boy for mummy and Gracie?"

"_Mm-hm. When can I go race with you?_"

"Not until I get home in the off-season, I'm afraid. But I'll see if I can come home for a few days soon, okay?"

"_Okay,_" Blaze replied, although he sounded disappointed. "_Bye dada._"

"Bye, son."

"_I'm afraid I need to go now too, Lightning,_" Sally said. "_I'm expecting some guests to check in shortly._"

"Okay. I love you, Sal."

"_I love you too, Stickers. Stay safe._"

"I will. Bye."

"_Bye._"

Lightning hung up the phone with a heavy heart. Much as he loved travelling on the Piston Cup circuit, being away from his family was taking a toll on him emotionally.

_The problem is, even if I do go back into racing, I'll be away from them even more than I am now_, Lightning thought sadly. He glanced at the clock and did a quick calculation. He guessed that it was about two-thirty a.m. in Brisbane, Australia. That was far too early for him to phone his mother and step-father for advice. He'd have to wait until about seven p.m. before it would be safe for him to phone them.

"Hey, Lightning?" Mack called over the intercom about twenty minutes later. "Are you asleep back there?"

"No, I'm awake," Lightning replied.

"You've been very quiet. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mack. Just thinking."

"Ah! I thought I heard some rusty gears ticking over," Mack teased. Lightning looked up at the camera in the corner of his trailer, which was displaying a live video of Mack. He indignantly stuck his tongue out at Mack.

"Very funny!"

"Hey, I just thought I should let you know that we're about to pull over for lunch."

"Good, because I didn't get much for breakfast," Lightning muttered.

"You shouldn't have given it away to Cruz and Strip then!"

Seeing Lightning scowl, Mack wisely turned off the intercom.

A few minutes later, the convoy pulled into a service centre for lunch. Lightning drove out of his trailer and he stretched his wheels for a moment before he headed over to the small café. Cal was already inside the café, buying his lunch.

"You're buying doughnuts?" Lightning asked with surprise when he saw what Cal was buying for his lunch.

"Sure, why not? We don't need to be as health-conscious as we used to be, you know."

Lightning frowned thoughtfully. Cal did have a point, but Lightning had avoided having raw sugar for as long as he could remember. He'd once snuck a doughnut while he was racing in the V8 Supercars series in Australia a few years earlier, and that had almost had him bouncing off walls. Normally, the only sugar he consumed was that contained in electrolyte drinks.

"Well, I suppose we can have whatever junk food we want," Lightning mused.

"I'll share a couple with you."

"Thanks, Cal. I'll see you back outside."

A few minutes later, Lightning joined Cal in the shade under an awning outside. He'd bought a small pizza and a can of regular oil for himself. Cal nudged the doughnut box closer to Lightning.

"Knock yourself out."

Lightning hesitated, but then he took one of the doughnuts. "Thanks, Cal. You know this will probably send me hyper."

"I doubt we'll notice a difference."

The two friends giggled quietly for a moment. Lightning finished his doughnut, and then he moved onto his pizza.

"So, what do you think of Justin's idea?" Lightning asked.

"About having a racing series just for us? I'm all for it."

"Me too. If it goes ahead, I wonder how Tex will organise things."

"I'm sure he'll figure it out. He's not going to let you go to any other sponsor now that he's finally got you under contract with him. I'm actually surprised that he didn't buy out Rust-Eze sooner just to get you."

"Okay, everyone! Load up! Let's get back on the road!" Tex shouted from where the transporters were parked.

Lightning snatched up the rest of his lunch, and he drove back over to Mack.

"I just need to refuel before we head off," Mack informed Tex as Lightning was reversing inside his trailer.

"That's fine, Mack," Tex agreed. "We can wait for you."

Lightning finished his lunch inside his trailer while Mack refuelled. Once Mack was ready, the convoy set off again, heading towards Richmond.

* Quote from Disney's The Aristocats (1970).


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

**Wow! Thank you so much for all the positive reviews and comments! I thought I'd almost been forgotten on this fandom. It's so great to be back after writing for other fandoms. I'm thrilled that so many of you are enjoying this story so far! Thanks again for your support!**

Chapter 3 – Raising the Stakes

**Richmond Raceway, Virginia – 16 April 2018 **

By dusk, the Dinoco / Rest-Eze team had made camp in the Richmond Raceway's infield. The trailers had been neatly parked in their designated places, and the tent had been erected nearby. The entire team was now settled and having dinner. Everyone that is, except for Lightning. While they ate their dinner, Tex and Strip watched from the tent as Lightning paced up and down behind the line of trailers.

"Has he told you why he's so restless all of a sudden?" Tex finally asked Strip.

"No." Strip frowned thoughtfully. "Then again, Lightning doesn't tend to confide in me."

"I'm not sure if he confides in anyone, really," Tex agreed. "It's funny, 'cause he says a lot, an' yet somehow he manages to keep his private thoughts an' feelin's very much to himself."

"I think I'll let you handle him this time," Strip said before he moved back inside the tent.

Tex watched Lightning for another moment before he drove over to him. Lightning stopped pacing abruptly when he saw Tex approaching.

"You haven't eaten," Tex stated.

"I'm not hungry," Lightning replied.

Tex frowned with concern. "Are you sure you're not coming down with something? You overslept this morning, and now you're not hungry."

"I've just got a lot on my mind right now," Lightning confessed.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"They're worth more than that, sorry."

Tex gave an exaggerated sigh. "Look, Lightnin'. I know I'm not your step-dad like Doc was, but I do care about you and your well-being. I can tell that somethin' is seriously botherin' you right now, so please, talk to me. Even if I can't help or offer advice, sometimes it really helps to just tell someone how you're feelin'."

Lightning shook his front and he reversed into the shadow of Cruz's trailer. "I can't, Tex. I made a promise not to say anything. I'm sorry."

Tex nodded in understanding. "Okay. I understand. I just need you to be at your best so that you can help Cruz."

"I know, Tex. I won't let you guys down. I'm just waiting to talk to my parents, that's all."

Tex didn't look convinced, but he knew just how far he could push Lightning before he snapped. "Okay then. Just make sure you get somethin' to eat before you go to bed." And with that, Tex drove back to the tent.

Lightning drove over to his trailer. He was about to lower the ramp, when he saw a dark shadow approaching. As soon as he saw the car's neon blue lights, Lightning knew exactly who it was.

"Go back to your own team, Storm," Lightning told him sternly. "You know you're not allowed in other team's camps without permission."

"Oh, I just thought I'd come and see if the rumours are true," Jackson Storm said casually.

Lightning frowned. "What rumours?"

"That you were out racing after curfew last night."

Lightning managed to keep his face straight. He shrugged innocently. "I heard someone out on the track last night. I thought it was just a couple of fans who got missed by security."

Jackson smirked. "Yeah, I thought you'd deny it. You see, I just happened to be awake last night when you and your friends had your little race. It was a pretty pathetic affair if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't ask you!" Lightning snapped. "And even if what you're saying is true, the matter has already been dealt with."

Jackson scoffed. "Perhaps. But you see, I managed to record most of the race on my phone. Now, I have a little proposition to put to you. Either you let me win on Sunday, or I'll release the video to the media. It's your choice."

Lightning laughed despite himself. "Oh, you are so young and naïve! If you think you can frighten me with a threat like that, you're still dripping behind your fenders (*AN: wet behind the ears). Now it's my turn to threaten you. If I ever catch you race-fixing again, I will make sure that your name is dragged through the mud until it's six feet under. Do your worst! See if I care! Now, get back to your own team before I call security!"

Jackson wisely left the area. Lightning seethed crossly for a moment before he reversed inside his trailer and closed the ramp. He knew that he was morally obligated to report Jackson's race-fixing threat to the officials, but he wasn't sure if he should. He had no proof that the incident occurred. It would just be his word against Jackson's.

After Lightning had taken a few minutes to calm down, he pressed a button to activate his sat-phone. "Call 'mum'," he said into the phone.

"Phoning 'mum'," an electronic voice from the phone repeated. The phone rang several times before Lightning's mother, Elinor Louds, answered.

"_Hello?_"

"Hi mum."

Elinor immediately brightened. "_Lightning! It's about time you phoned me. I've missed hearing your voice._"

"I miss all of you. You are my mum after all."

"_Aww! You don't need to butter me up. Sorry I sound tired. Craig and I have your step-siblings around for the school holidays. They stayed up late last night watching a movie._"

Lightning smiled. "How does it feel to be a mother again?"

"_I've never stopped being a mother,_" Elinor wisely replied. "_Would you like to talk to Craig? He was talking about phoning you last night._"

"Sure! I have a lot of things that I need to ask him about too."

"_Lightning, you know that you can always come to me for advice._"

"This is about racing."

"_I'll get Craig,_" Elinor replied, making Lightning chuckle. "_Craig! Phone!_"

A moment later, Lightning heard his step-dad drive over to the phone. "_Hey, Lightning! How are you?_"

"Er… Do you want the stock-standard response, or the truth?"

"_I hope you'll always tell me the truth. What's up?_"

Lightning sighed despondently. "Before we get to me, mum said that you were going to phone me yesterday. What did you want to talk about?"

"_In a nutshell, I wanted to discuss with you my intention to retire from racing._"

Lightning gasped, just loud enough for Craig to hear.

"_What? I can't keep on racing forever. Let's face it, I'm forty-three. There aren't many racers who continue racing past forty, you know._"

"Yeah, I know…"

Craig picked up on the sadness in Lightning's voice. "_Sorry, I didn't mean to rub it in. I know you weren't ready to be pushed out of the Piston Cup._"

When Lightning didn't respond, Craig decided to continue.

"_Anyway, I've been discussing the plans for my retirement with Leyland. We've decided to announce it to the media in July, so that will give everyone time to give me a fitting farewell. I'm not going to retire from racing completely though. I think I'd go mad if I just stopped racing suddenly. I'm planning to return to the European Touring Car circuit where I first started my professional racing career. I'm also going to do the Bathurst twelve-hour early next year with Jamie and Shane, and I've already agreed to be Jamie's co-racer in the Enduro Cup next year. So, I won't be cutting myself off from racing entirely. I just won't be racing full-time in the V8 Supercars anymore._"

"I see," Lightning whispered in reply. He cleared his throat. "I know I can trust you to keep a secret. I found out this morning that there's a possibility that I could return to racing next year."

"_Are you planning to return to the V8 Supercars?_" Craig asked hopefully.

"No. I enjoyed it, but I'm more at home here."

"_I understand. So, what are you planning to do?_"

"I can't tell you any details yet, because there aren't any, but if it goes ahead, I'll return to racing in a Piston Cup support series."

"_That's a shame. You're too good to be dumped in a lower ranking._"

"I'm not looking at it like that. I hope that if this series goes ahead, it'll be just as good as the mainstream Piston Cup series. I guess the closest I can compare it with is the Development Series, but instead of being for rookies, this series will be for the Piston Cup veterans who were pushed out too soon. My only concern is that it'll mean spending even more time away from Sally and Blaze. I've already missed seeing Blaze cut his first tooth and take his first drive. He's growing up so quickly, and I feel guilty because I'm missing out on everything."

"_Unfortunately, racing, or being part of a racing team, is your job,_" Craig reminded him. "_You're being paid to do this. Besides, you're not the only one who's missing out on seeing their kids grow up._"

"You're speaking from experience now, aren't you?"

"_Yeah._" Craig was silent for a moment while he thought about what Lightning had just said. Then, he sighed heavily. "_Look, Lightning, if Sally and Blaze didn't come into it, what would you do?_"

"I'd return to racing in a flash," Lightning replied with a small smile.

"_Then that's your answer. Stop being so hard on yourself and feeling guilty. Just talk to Sally. I know she'll understand. She just wants you to be happy, even if that means spending weeks, or even months apart. She's a strong, intelligent and highly independent young lady. I know that she can cope without having you by her side twenty-four seven._"

"Yeah…" Lightning mused.

"_On a different note, I know that Leyland wants to avoid racing three cars next year. He's just going to stick with Jamie and Shane. However, we do need a fourth racer for the Bathurst twelve-hour. Would you like me to put your name forward to Leyland?_"

"When is it?"

"_January next year. You, Sally and Blaze are welcome to spend Christmas with us, if you like._"

"Sure! I'll have to discuss it with Tex and Sally, of course, but you can tell Leyland that I'm definitely keen."

"_Great! I hope you can make it. The whole team really misses you._"

"I miss them too. Please, tell everyone that I said 'hi'."

"_Will do. I'll let you know when I'll announce my retirement, so you can watch it live._"

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

"_Do you want to talk to your mum again?_"

"Nah. I don't think we have anything else we need to discuss, thanks. Talk to you again soon."

"_Okay. Bye._"

"Bye." After Lightning had hung up his phone, he took out his pillow and he settled down on it to sleep. Once he was somewhat comfortable, he turned off the lights.

…

About an hour later, Tex and Dr Ford left the Dinoco tent, and they headed towards the trailer they shared. Tex frowned when he saw that the lights inside Lightning's trailer were off.

"Lightnin' didn't have any dinner," Tex commented. "Should I wake him an' make him go an' have somethin'?"

"No. Skipping one meal won't hurt him if he really isn't hungry," Dr Ford replied. "He obviously needs more sleep than food. Stress is a common cause of appetite loss. I can keep an eye on him though, if you're really worried about him."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks. I know that he's been a bit stressed today."

"In that case, I think he'll be perfectly fine for now. I'm sure he'll be back to normal by morning."

Tex nodded slightly. Then, the two of them resumed driving over to their trailer.

…

At six a.m. the following morning, Lightning's alarm clock went off. Groaning sleepily, he shut it off with his tyre. Although he wanted to keep on sleeping, he knew that he needed to get up so that he could train Cruz.

Lightning exited his trailer to find Cruz already up. He yawned as she drove over to him.

"Good morning, crew chief!" Cruz said cheerfully.

"Morning, Cruz," Lightning muttered, still half-asleep. "I think I need a coffee. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"Again?"

Lightning smiled reassuringly at her. "That's a lot going on in my life right now, that's all. It is possible to be mentally exhausted, you know. Now, I want you to go and do a few laps to warm up, while I grab a cup of coffee. I'll tell you what I want you to do after that."

"Okay," Cruz agreed. She turned and drove towards pit row. Lightning headed over to the Dinoco tent. Luckily, the chef was already up preparing breakfast, so Lightning was easily able to grab a cup of strong coffee. He then collected his training notes from his trailer before he drove towards pit row.

A few minutes later, Lightning drove onto his crew chief's stand and he put on his headset. Cruz was already out on the track, warming up, along with most of the other Piston Cup racers. Lightning frowned thoughtfully and sipped on his coffee while he kept an eye on Cruz.

_I really, really want to race again more than anything. But I also want to be with my family. Craig is right though. This is the career path I chose. I knew that it would mean constant travelling and being away from my family. Of course, that didn't matter so much before I married Sally. If I do get back into racing, Cruz will need a new crew chief, and so will I. I know I'm not the best crew chief for Cruz. This just feels so unnatural for me. I wish Doc was still alive so he could give me advice on what to do. No. I need to stop wishing for things that can't happen. Craig has given me good advice. I need to stop overthinking this. What was it that Smokey said? That's right. 'Funny what a racer can do when he's not overthinking things.' He's right. I'm completely overthinking this! I just need to have patience and what to see what happens. If I'm destined to return to racing, the doors will open. If not, they'll stay closed. Who knows? Maybe I'll look back on this time in the future and realise that this break is the best thing for me right now._

A movement in Lightning's peripheral vision caught his attention. Turning slightly to his right, he saw that it was Strip and Cal. They were having a quiet chat together. Lightning couldn't make out what they were saying, but judging from Cal's smile, he guessed that they were having an uncle and nephew discussion.

_I really miss being able to do that with Doc…_

"Uh, Lightning?" Cruz called over the radio, snapping Lightning out of his thoughts. "I've finished my warm-up. What do you want me to do now?"

"Erm…" Lightning glanced down at his notes. "For the next fifteen laps, I want you to practice sprinting down the straights, and then ease off around the turns. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah."

"Good. This will help you improve your acceleration, so focus on that. Off you go."

Lightning watched Cruz going through the exercise for a moment. Then, after he'd finished off his coffee, he motioned for Cal to come over to him. Cal did so.

"S'up, Light?"

"Can you take over Cruz's training, please? I need to talk to Strip about something important."

"Sure," Cal agreed.

"Just refer to my notes once Cruz finishes her current exercise." Lightning removed his headset, and they traded places. Once Cal had put on the headset and made radio contact with Cruz, Lightning drove over to Strip.

"Morning, Strip."

"Morning, Lightning. How are you?"

"Not too bad, I guess. I didn't sleep well last night, because of an incident that occurred shortly before I went to bed. I've spent most of the night debating whether or not I should tell you about it, since you're an official. However, I feel that I'm morally obligated to report it."

"I'm listening," Strip replied.

"Okay," Lightning drew in a deep breath before he continued. "Last night, Jackson Storm approached me, and he threatened to send video footage he'd taken the other night of myself, Cal and Junior racing on the track to the media, unless I ensured that he'd win on Sunday. I told him that I had no interest in taking part in race fixing, and that I didn't care if he releases the video."

Strip nodded slowly. "That's a very serious allegation, Lightning."

"I know, and I don't have any proof. It's his word against mine. I just don't know what to do about it."

"I see. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. In my professional opinion, I think you'd better file an official report, just in case evidence of race fixing comes up later. That way, we'll at least be able to say when it started. Don't worry. Jackson doesn't need to know about this yet. By filing a report, you're just covering yourself in case it escalates."

"Okay, I can do that," Lightning agreed. "Where can I get the paperwork?"

"From the admin office. You'll need to get the off-track misconduct form. You can give it to me once you've filled it out."

"Thanks, Strip. I'll get it as soon as the office opens."

Strip nodded and Lightning returned to the crew chief stand.

"Do you want me to take over, Cal, or are you happy to finish off Cruz's training today?" Lightning asked.

"I'm happy to finish," Cal replied. "I've done most of it anyway."

Lightning chuckled. He settled down to watch Cruz. From what he could see, she was still a bit stiff from the race on Sunday, but he knew that this light workout would help ease that. He frowned when he saw Jackson Storm race up behind Cruz. He dropped down to her inside and slowed so that the two of them were driving side-by-side around the track. Lightning knew that Jackson was saying something to her, because a few seconds later, Jackson took off again.

"What did he say to her?" Lightning demanded to know.

Cal looked worried as he glanced down at Lightning. "He said that if she doesn't pull out of Sunday's race, he's going to make sure she doesn't finish it in one piece."

Lightning revved his engine angrily. "What is his problem?"

"Maybe his inflated male ego can't accept the fact that he's being beaten by a girl?" Cal suggested.

"I think you've got something there," Lightning agreed. "First, he couldn't deal with being beaten by a seven-time Piston Cup veteran, and now he can't deal with being beaten by a female rookie. It makes a lot of sense. Tell Cruz to do a couple of cool down laps and come in. I'm going to get Doctor Ford and Strip. My complaint to the officials just escalated."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 4 – Stress Relief

**Richmond Raceway, Virginia – 17 April 2018 **

"I still don't understand why you need my black box," Cruz complained as Dr Ford poked around in her engine bay.

"Because I'm submitting a complaint against Jackson Storm," Lightning replied. "He's already tried to blackmail me, and now he's threatened you. This has to stop before it gets beyond just a verbal threat."

"Personally, I think you're making more out of this than you need to," Strip said to Lightning. "Considering you've both given and received threats from other racers yourself."

Lightning bristled slightly. "This is different! Jackson is personally threatening us!"

"And you never singled out Chick Hicks and threaten him?" Strip challenged. Lightning opened his mouth to respond, but he quickly closed it when he realised that Strip was right. He'd verbally threatened Chick many times throughout their careers together, but he'd never carried them out. He sighed heavily in defeat.

"You're right, Strip. I guess I have over-reacted. Sorry I've wasted everyone's time."

Dr Ford finished removing the SD card from Cruz's black box, and he inserted it into his laptop. "The least we can do is to listen to exactly what was said out there, and then we can decide on what to do." Dr Ford opened the black box record file and, after skipping forward to the last ten minutes, he started to play it. At first, all that could be heard was Cruz's engine, but after about a minute, Jackson's engine could be heard getting closer.

"_Hey! Costume girl!_" Jackson called as he pulled up alongside her. "_If you don't pull out of the race on Sunday, I'm gonna make sure you don't finish in one piece!_"

"_You don't scare me, Jackson!_" Cruz retorted. "_Besides, everyone knows that you're not as good as you pretend to be._"

"_Says the costume girl who's pretending to be me!_" Jackson laughed before he accelerated away.

Dr Ford stopped the recording. "I don't think we need to take this matter further, right Strip?"

"I agree. You'd better put that SD card back in Cruz's black box."

Feeling dejected, Lightning turned, and he drove away towards the Dinoco tent. He felt humiliated for making such a big deal out of nothing. He knew better than anyone that racing banter rarely went further than verbal threats. That's just how they toyed with each other's mindset.

Cal followed Lightning inside the tent. "Hey, Light?"

Lightning turned to face his friend. "Yeah?"

"I know you probably feel like you overreacted, but I know that you're just looking out for Cruz. She's still a rookie after all."

"Thanks for understanding, Cal. The truth is, ever since our discussion with Justin, I've felt conflicted. I know that you and Junior want to return to racing just as much as I do, but I have a family to think about now. And Cruz, and Tex, and…"

"Whoa! Stop it right there!" Cal held up a tyre for emphasis. "None of that stopped you when you decided to go and race in Australia."

"I wasn't married when I made that decision."

"So? You were still with Sally. And, she was happy to move to Australia with you."

"Yeah…" Lightning sighed despondently again. "But she won't want to travel around with me now."

"Have you asked her?"

"No, not yet."

"Then ask her before you start stressing about it so much that you can't even drive straight!"

Lightning stared at Cal, surprised. Cal had never raised his voice to him before, so he wasn't sure how he should react. Cal pointed a tyre directly at Lightning's trailer.

"NOW!"

Lightning drew in a deep breath before he drove slowly over to his trailer. Cal gave him a nudge from behind.

"Stop dawdling! We all know that you can move faster than that!"

Lightning chuckled as he sped up. He reversed inside his trailer and, with Cal watching on with satisfaction, he closed the ramp. Once Lightning was alone, he instructed his sat phone to dial Sally's number.

"_Hello?_" Sally answered.

"Hey, Sal. It's me."

Sally chuckled softly. "_You don't have to tell me that! I know your voice. How are you?_"

"Erm… Well, I've been a bit stressed…"

"_Jackson been bothering you again?_"

"No more than usual. Actually, I want to talk about us."

"_Oh?_"

"Yeah. You see, that's a chance that I could return to racing next year. But I don't know if I should…"

"_Because of me?_"

"Because of you and Blaze. I feel incredibly guilty whenever I have to leave you both behind."

"_I understand, because I always feel the same way whenever you leave. However, I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to marry you. I knew that you'd be travelling away from home a lot, and that I'd often be alone with Blaze. That's why I agreed to have him built. He is so much like you that I feel that you're always here with me._"

"But it's not the same," Lightning pointed out.

"_I know, but it doesn't bother me. Gracie keeps me company, and I look forward to hearing your voice every day. I know how much you want to race again, and I won't stand in your way. This isn't just your passion – it's your career. I want you to keep racing for as long as you physically can._"

Lightning smiled. "Thank you, Sal. I really needed to hear that from your own lips. You have no idea what that means to me."

"_Oh, I think I do. If the opportunity arises for you to get back into racing, I want you to say yes. Don't even think about me. We can work around your racing, just like we've always done._"

"Yeah. Thank you so much, Sal. I'm feeling much calmer now."

"_Good. Because I know what you're like when you're stressed. Just try to relax and remember to breathe._"

"I will. Love ya, Sal."

"_I love you too, Stickers. Stay safe._"

"You too. Bye."

"_Bye._"

Lightning breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he hung up the phone. He drew in a couple of deep breathes before he exited his trailer. Cal was still parked outside, waiting patiently for him.

"Well?" Cal asked as Lightning parked alongside him.

"They're usually about three-feet deep," Lightning teased.

For a moment, the joke went straight over Cal's roof. But then, it clicked, making him chuckle. "That's such a dad joke! The fact that you're joking around again must mean that things went well between you and Sally?"

"Yeah. She wants me to keep racing."

"I knew she would," Cal said. He thumped Lightning's side with his tyre. "You still seem a bit tense though."

"I know! I guess my problem is that whenever I used to get stressed out about decisions like this, I'd just go and spend some time out on the track."

"Technically, there's nothing stopping you from doing that," Cal pointed out. "All you need is Strip's written permission."

Lightning brightened slightly when he realised that Cal was right. There was no reason why he couldn't spin a few laps during practice sessions. "You know what? Sometimes, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Cal chuckled. "I think I might join you. I really enjoyed out little race the other night."

Together, Lightning and Cal drove out of the tent to find Strip. He was still talking to Dr Ford and Cruz.

"Hey, Uncle Strip?" Cal called as they re-joined the group.

"What do you want now, Cal?"

"Lightning and I need to de-stress, but we need your permission."

Strip frowned thoughtfully. "I think it's pretty obvious that Lightning is stressed, but I'm not sure if letting you two loose out on the track is suck a good idea…"

"Just let them do it, Strip," Dr Ford said. "Otherwise, Lightning won't be at his best, mentally, to mentor Cruz."

Strip sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right. I know exactly what Lightning's like when he's stressed out, and the team doesn't need to be dealing with that coming into a race."

"Uh, guys? I'm standing right here," Lightning interjected. Cal chuckled, and he gave Lightning a friendly nudge.

"Now you know how I feel!"

Strip drove over to his trailer. He returned a moment later with an official form. "Give this to the steward in the pits."

Cal snatched the form with his teeth. "Thanks, uncle!"

"Don't forget to put on racing tyres before you go out there!" Strip called after them as they drove away. Lightning waved a tyre in acknowledgement.

Minutes later, Lightning and Cal were parked at the entrance end of pit row, going through a few stretches to warm up. Cal had passed the form to the steward, who was currently conferring with the officials. While not all of the racers were out on the track for practice, the pits were very busy. Some reporters and passionate fans were also hanging around in the grandstands to watch.

"I can't believe we have to go through all this red tape just to run a few laps," Lightning complained.

"Considering this is an official practice session for the racers, they can't just let us go out there," Cal reminded him.

The steward returned to them then. "Okay, I've got some good news. Brian Corvette, the chief official, has cleared you both to go out on the track, on the condition that you don't impede any of the racers. You two still have racing computers installed, right?"

"Yes," Lightning and Cal replied in unison.

"Good. Even though you don't have crew chiefs, you must have your radios turned on so that we can talk to you if we need to."

"Which channel do you want us on?" Cal asked.

"Nineteen, please."

Lightning and Cal activated their radios.

"Radio check." The steward said.

"I've got you," Lightning replied.

"Copy," Cal added.

The steward nodded. "Right, well, I guess you're both good to go. If you need anything, or if there are any problems, just let me know."

"We will," Cal replied. He accelerated down pit row, followed closely by Lightning.

Lightning smiled as he followed Cal out onto the track. They stayed below the racing line while they focused on warming up.

"I hope we get some clean air so we can have a decent race!" Lightning said to Cal.

"Me too! And this time, I'm not going to let you win!"

"Oohh! We'll see about that!"

While Lightning and Cal were doing their warm-up laps, first the racers, fans and finally the media noticed that they were out on the track. Realising that something interesting was about to happen, photographers excitedly began snapping away.

What Lightning and Cal had failed to notice in their excitement was that Jackson was still out on the track, practicing. Upon seeing Lightning and Cal warming up, he smirked.

"_Ready to have a bit of fun, Jackson?_" Ray Reverham, Jackson's crew chief, asked him over the radio.

"Heck yeah! I think it's time for me to teach these has-beens that they no longer belong on the track." Jackson accelerated, and he shot past Lightning and Cal.

"Jerk!" Cal muttered. "Just ignore him, Light."

"I'm trying," Lightning replied through gritted teeth. "It's not easy, but I'm trying."

After they'd completed their warm-up laps, Lightning and Cal prepared to race each other. They found a clear gap between the practicing racers, and they swung up onto the racing line. As usual, Lightning took his favourite position on the high racing line, while Cal stayed on the low racing line. Realising that Lightning and Cal were about to race each other, nearly everyone at the track stopped what they were doing to watch. Up in the grandstand, Justin even paused a meeting so he could watch from his office window. However, Lightning and Cal didn't notice that everyone was now watching them.

"Ready?" Lightning asked.

"Set?" Cal replied.

"Go!" they shouted in unison as they crossed over the start/finish line side-by-side.

Since he was on the outside, Lightning had to push himself harder and faster to get ahead of Cal. They'd agreed to have a twenty-lap race, so Lightning knew that he needed to get ahead of Cal as soon as he could and then hold him off for the rest of the race. That was what he'd always done. He liked to set the racing pace early and let everyone else try to keep up with him. Cal, on the other hand, was a stalker. He was perfectly comfortable sitting in Lightning's slipstream to help save energy until the end. Then, he'd pounce and hopefully take Lightning by surprise. More often than not, Lightning had been able to block him with relative ease.

Although Lightning and Cal were racing each other, the Piston Cup racers were still practicing, which meant that Lightning and Cal had to skilfully duck and weave around them. On lap fifteen, they caught up with Jackson, who was putting in a slower lap. Since Jackson was hogging the centre racing line, Lightning instinctively swung up onto the high line to go around him, while Cal dropped down low.

"Have you come to tell me that you've changed your mind?" Jackson asked as Lightning drew up alongside him.

Lightning was confused. "About?"

"About what we discussed last night. I'm not surprised you forgot. It must be hard to function when you become senile."

Enraged by Jackson's comment, Lightning floored it, and he shot past Jackson. Cal accelerated past Jackson as well. However, Jackson wasn't prepared to let them get away. He knew how sensitive Lightning was about becoming older. He also knew that, even though Lightning wasn't competing against him, if he could mess with Lightning's mindset, he'd pass that onto Cruz, and then she'd perform badly. Jackson accelerated and he started catching up with Lightning and Cal.

"_Jackson, what are you doing?_" Ray demanded to know. "_Just leave him! He isn't worth the bother!_"

Jackson ignored him, and he drew up alongside Lightning again. This time, he floored it and he easily overtook Lightning and Cal. As Jackson pulled away from them, Lightning suffered a flashback to the moment before his big crash. In his mind's eye, he saw Jackson pulling away from him as he was doing now. He could also hear the commentator exclaiming, _"Lightning McQueen is fading! He's fading fast!" _

_No, I'm not!_ Lightning thought with determination. _Not this time!_ Forgetting that he was racing Cal, Lightning pushed his engine as hard as he could. He started to gain slightly on Jackson, but then he felt his engine tighten. That was a strong indication to him that he was completely maxed out. Lightning glanced down at his speedometer. The needle was sitting on 198mph.

"Lightning, yield!" Cal shouted desperately as he struggled to keep up with his friend. "Just leave him! You can't afford to crash again!"

Lightning hesitated, but then he stopped pushing and he slowed down. Panting heavily, Cal drew up alongside him.

"You're racing me, remember? We're not supposed to get in the way of the racers."

"I wasn't," Lightning protested. "I was…"

"Jackson is just trying to annoy you, so that you'll be in a bad mood for the race on Sunday," Cal pointed out. "How do you think Cruz will race if you pass on your annoyance to her?"

Lightning pouted, but he knew that Cal was right. "I'm sorry. You know how competitive I am."

"Right. So, chase me instead!" And with that, Cal floored it.

Lightning promptly raced after Cal. It didn't take him very long to catch up with Cal and overtake him. Lightning started to push himself again as he tried to gain some clear ground over Cal. He felt his engine tighten again when he reached 198mph.

_I know I can go much faster than that! I've done it before… _

Grimacing, Lightning narrowed his eyes as he focused on staying straight on the centre racing line. Every now and again, he glanced down at his speedometer, but despite the ongoing tightness in his engine, his speed did not increase. After about ten laps, he gave up and started to slow. Cal caught up, and he began drafting behind him.

"One more lap!" Cal called.

Just then, Jackson overtook them again. With renewed determination, Lightning accelerated again. Cal stayed right behind him, even when Lightning took to the high side of the track. When Lightning reached 198mph again, he felt the tension in his engine increase. As he continued pushing himself, the tension suddenly became painful. Lightning gasped as a sharp bolt of pain shot from his engine and radiated throughout his body. Seconds later, he heard a strange, but familiar whining sound coming from his engine. For a moment, Lightning was concerned, but then he backfired, causing flames to shoot out from all four of his exhausts. While backfiring was common amongst racers of Lightning's generation, this was the first time it had ever happened to him. Normally, the flames seen from his exhausts were caused by excess, unburned fuel leaving his system. After the backfire, the pain in Lightning's engine subsided, although the tightness remained.

For a moment, Lightning was unsure if he should continue racing, but since he only had half a lap to go, he decided to continue. As he came down out of the fourth turn, he started pushing his engine hard once more. To his amazement, the needle in his speedometer jumped to 200mph. It was the first time he'd seen it hit that reading in over two years.

_That's strange. I wonder…_

Lightning pushed his engine again. This time, it responded. It was as though he'd suddenly discovered his second wind. His speed continued to increase even as he flew across the start/finish line, ending his race with Cal. Realising that the side-effects of his Jaguar Syndrome must have re-emerged, Lightning continued to push himself.

As he came onto the back straight, he saw Jackson racing ahead of him. Lightning had no idea how fast he was going now, but he did know one thing for certain. He was gaining on Jackson at over 200mph!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 5 – Breakdown

**Richmond Raceway, Virginia – 17 April 2018 **

The small crowd of spectators in the grandstands started to cheer when they saw Lightning beginning to gain on Jackson. In the infield, nearly everyone stopped what they were doing to watch. Those racers who were still practicing on the track quickly pitted when they realised what was going on. Cal wisely followed them into pit row. He parked alongside Cruz, who was watching Lightning with her mouth open.

"How is he doing that?" Cruz squealed excitedly. "When I was training him, he wasn't able to get over a hundred and ninety-eight miles per hour!"

"It's a long story," Cal replied simply.

As Lightning reached the start/finish line again, Strip subtlety started his stopwatch. He watched Lightning closely as the former racer continued to gain on Jackson.

"_Hey, Jackson?_" Ray called over the radio. "_Erm… Don't look now, but McQueen is gaining on you._"

"What!" Jackson exclaimed, shocked.

"_I don't know how he's doing it, but he is._"

Jackson glanced back over his fender. He could just see Lightning about three car lengths behind him. Stunned, Jackson tried to accelerate, but he'd reached his limit. And Lightning was still gaining!

Lightning couldn't contain his grin. He had no idea what speed he was going at now, because his speedometer only went up to two-hundred miles per hour, but he could see that Jackson was completely maxed out.

As Lightning finished the lap, Strip stopped the stopwatch. He then collected a headset before he drove over to the Dinoco pit. After Strip had put on the headset, he drove up onto the crew chief stand.

"McQueen's on channel sixteen," the pit row steward informed Strip. With a nod of thanks, Strip tuned in his headset.

"_Lightning? It's Strip._"

"Hey Strip," Lightning replied. "What's up?"

"_Are you maxed out yet?_"

"I don't think so. I thought I was, but after I backfired, my speed increased."

"_Okay, I think it might be best if you ease off…_"

Strip never got to finish that sentence. All of a sudden, Lightning heard a loud 'bang!' come from his engine. Flames and sparks immediately flew out from beneath Lightning's engine bay. Lightning winced as a sharp bolt of pain shot from the front of his engine to his brain.

"Ouch!" Lightning yelped involuntarily. "Strip, I think I've broken something."

"_If you can, keep driving to the pits_," Strip calmly instructed as Lightning dropped down into the emergency lane. "_The emergency crew are already getting ready for you._"

"Copy that," Lightning muttered. Strip frowned. He could tell from Lightning's heavy breathing that he was doing his best to stay conscious and keep driving. Although Lightning had done some serious damage to himself, he needed to keep driving to stop the flames from burning him.

"_Yellow flag! Yellow flag!_" Brian Corvette, the chief official, announced over the radio. "_We have an oil spill on turn three! Repeat, there is an oil spill on turn three._"

Lightning rolled safely to a stop directly behind the fire truck, who was parked near the entrance to pit row. He was immediately dowsed in foam, which extinguished the fire. Cal drove over to his friend.

"Are you okay?" Cal asked with concern.

Lightning spat some foam out of his mouth. "Well, I'm still alive, so I guess that counts as being okay."

"You're bleeding oil!" Cal exclaimed. He indicated to the pool of oil that was forming beneath Lightning's chin.

Lightning groaned as he blinked slowly. "I must've blown out the same oil line I busted at Bathurst a few years ago. I had it surgically repaired at the time, but…"

At that moment, Strip, two ambulances and a forklift paramedic arrived. "How are you feeling?" the first ambulance asked, while the other started placing monitoring sensors onto Lightning.

"I think I've blown one of my oil lines," Lightning replied weakly. "It's an old injury."

The paramedic lifted Lightning's hood. After the smoke had cleared, she whistled softly. "You've blown an oil line all right! I'm going to tie it off to stop the bleeding, and then we'll get some fluids into you. Once you're stabilised, we'll take you over to the medical centre."

Lightning nodded slowly. He could feel his damaged oil line pulsing as oil continued to be pumped through it. The pulsing eased when the paramedic folded his broken oil line in half. She secured a cable tie around the folded end, stopping the oil. Lightning focused on slowing his breathing while the ambulances and paramedic worked on him.

"His oil pressure is weak and slow," the second ambulance reported after the first one had connected Lightning to an I.V. line. "But the rest of his vitals are stable now."

"Thank goodness!" Strip muttered with relief.

The paramedic smiled sympathetically. "Let's get him over to the medical centre."

After the paramedic had closed Lightning's hood, she gently loaded him into one of the ambulances. Moments later, the ambulance drove away towards the racetrack's medical centre. When they arrived, Lightning was carefully unloaded and taken into an examination room. The Piston Cup's head doctor, Dr Carburettor, was already waiting for him. Lightning had known Dr Carburettor ever since he'd started his professional racing career, so he was relieved to have a familiar face there to look after him.

"We need to stop catching up like this," Dr Carburettor teased as he opened Lightning's hood. "Bloody hell! Are you sure this was just an oil leak?"

"No… It doesn't hurt much anymore, if that's what you're thinking."

Dr Carburettor frowned thoughtfully as he examined the damage to Lightning's engine bay. Aside from the firefighting foam and burnt grease, oil was splattered everywhere. Dr Carburettor knew that in order to see exactly what Lightning had done to his engine, he needed to give his engine bay a thorough clean.

"I'm just going to give you a mild sedative, Lightning," Dr Carburettor told him as he started to prepare an injection. "It has a painkiller in it too. I need to give your engine a thorough examination, and it'll be easier on you if you're asleep, so please don't fight it."

"I won't," Lightning muttered. He was still feeling dazed by what had happened.

Dr Carburettor gently inserted the needle into one of Lightning's healthy oil lines. It only took a couple of minutes to send Lightning into unconsciousness. After he'd gathered his tools, Dr Carburettor began to gently steam clean Lightning's engine bay. Once it was spotlessly clean, Dr Carburettor took a closer look at Lightning's broken oil line. He frowned when he saw just how badly worn it was, especially at the ends. The remainder of Lightning's oil lines weren't in much better condition.

"Oh, Lightning!" Dr Carburettor muttered to himself. "You've really banged yourself around over the years, haven't you?"

Leaving Lightning in the care of a nurse, Dr Carburettor went to his office to phone Dr Ford. A few minutes later, Dr Ford arrived at the medical centre.

"Strip told me what happened," Dr Ford said as he followed Dr Carburettor into the examination room where Lightning was. "I'm sorry I encouraged Strip to let him race Cal."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know that he'd blow an oil line. According to my records, the one that came off is the same one he damaged in the Bathurst 1000 a few years ago. It was surgically repaired at the time but take a look at this end here." Dr Carburettor pointed to the end of the disconnected oil line.

Dr Ford frowned. "That's completely worn out. I've only ever seen that on cars who don't look after themselves."

"Yeah, well, we both know how much Lightning hates getting medical treatment," Dr Carburettor pointed out. "It wouldn't surprise me if he's been neglecting to look after his engine ever since Doc passed away. I know I've cleared him to race many times since then, but it's not my job to re-tune engines."

"Personally, I haven't had to treat him for anything since he joined the Dinoco team as Cruz's Crew Chief," Dr Ford pointed out. "If I'd known how badly he'd been neglecting himself…"

"I told you, it's not your fault. Lightning should know better than to neglect his engine like this. I highly recommend that Lightning has a complete engine overhaul as soon as possible. If he keeps going around with worn parts like this, he could end up killing himself."

"I'll see that he undergoes one as soon as possible," Dr Ford promised. "Even if I have to drag him into the hospital myself."

"In the meantime, I'll reconnect this oil line with a temporary adhesive. I can't say how long it'll hold for, but it should be strong enough to last for a few weeks, as long as Lightning stays as immobile as possible."

Dr Ford rolled his eyes. "Now that's asking the impossible!"

"I know. Just do your best."

Dr Ford moved back as Dr Carburettor began the slow process of reattaching Lightning's damaged oil line.

…

About an hour later, Lightning started to show signs of waking up as the sedative wore off. Dr Ford was the only one with him in the examination room at the time. He remained quiet as he watched Lightning slowly regain consciousness.

Lightning yawned before he finally blinked open his eyes. Dr Ford smiled sympathetically at him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Um… Okay, I guess. What's going on?"

"Doctor Carburettor has been able to reconnect your broken oil line," Dr Ford explained. "However, it is only a temporary repair. You need to remain as still and as quiet as possible until…"

"Until when?" Lightning pressed.

Dr Ford exhaled heavily. "…Until you undergo a full engine overhaul."

Lightning gulped. "But isn't that kind of surgery very risky?"

"All surgery is risky, Lightning. And, you wouldn't need it if you'd looked after your engine properly. How long has it been since you've had your engine properly serviced and re-tuned?"

Ashamed, Lightning looked down at the floor. "Not since before Doc died. I…I don't know why I didn't have it done. I guess it just wasn't a priority."

"Well, it is now. I'm restricting you to the infield from now on, and tomorrow, Mack will take you home to Radiator Springs. You will not be allowed to re-join the team until I receive a medical report from your doctor saying that you've had the engine overhaul."

"But what about the race on Sunday?" Lightning protested. "Cruz needs me!"

"Tex has asked Cal to be Cruz's Crew Chief on Sunday. The experience will be good for both of them. You just need to focus on resting and recovering. If you don't have the engine overhaul done as soon as possible, you'll be lucky if you'll be able to keep driving, let alone racing." Dr Ford softened his tone when he saw how miserable Lightning looked. "I know the thought of an engine overhaul is scary, Lightning, but believe me, you'll feel much better afterwards."

Lightning just sighed sadly in response. Dr Ford left the examination room, and he drove over to Dr Carburettor's office. He knocked softly on the open door with his tyre. Dr Carburettor looked up from his computer.

"Lightning's awake," Dr Ford said. "And, I've told him that he has to go home and rest. He's not allowed to re-join the team until his had his engine overhaul."

Dr Carburettor nodded. "Thanks. I've just been on the phone with Lightning's Jaguar Syndrome specialist. He wants Lightning to come to New York to have the engine overhaul. Given Lightning's condition, it'll be safer for him to have his specialist with him throughout the procedure."

"That makes sense. I'll let Tex know."

"Thanks, Doctor Ford. I'll just go and check on Lightning, and if he's feeling better, I'll release him into your care."

Dr Ford nodded, and then he left. Dr Carburettor finished updating Lightning's file before he returned to the examination room. He found Lightning awake, and still looking miserable. Dr Carburettor looked over the monitoring machines that were still connected to Lightning.

"How do you feel now?"

"Fine," Lightning muttered without making eye contact.

"You know that we're only doing this because we care about you. And, if you ever want to get back into racing, you need to have your engine completely overhauled."

"Why couldn't I just have it replaced?" Lightning whined.

"I've just been talking to your specialist, Doctor Spark. Because you have Jaguar Syndrome, an engine replacement is pointless if you want to race. Your new engine would have to be smaller with less horsepower, like the one you were supposed to have been built with."

"I see," Lightning muttered despondently.

Dr Carburettor started disconnecting Lightning from the machines. "I know you don't like medical procedures, but trust me, you'll feel so much better afterwards. I also think that your oil was already damaged before today. Given how easily it came off today, I believe that it came loose during your wreck last year. The speeds you reached today must have been too much for it, which explains why it simply came off. The fire was caused by the oil being ignited by your engine."

"Oh. So, why did I backfire?"

"You did that because that's a clear sign that you need to have an engine overhaul. Your engine is misfiring, so it needs to be recalibrated."

Lightning made eye contact with Dr Carburettor. "I really don't have a choice then, do I?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Mack will take you to New York tomorrow, where you will meet with Doctor Spark. He'll explain everything to you, and he'll make all the arrangements."

"Thanks." Lightning smiled slightly. "Am I okay to leave now?"

Dr Carburettor removed the last sensor from Lightning's body. "Yes. But, try not to go faster than forty miles per hour. The less you move around, the longer the temporary fix to your oil line will last."

Lightning started his engine. "Got it. And, thank you for looking after me."

"No worries. Hopefully, the next time I see you, you'll be in better health."

Lightning nodded in agreement. As he drove out of the medical centre, he saw that the sun was just beginning to set. He'd just started driving towards the Dinoco / Rust-eze camp, when he saw Junior parked beside his trailer, chatting to a familiar car. Lightning smiled. It was their mutual friend, Bobby Swift.

Glancing around, Lightning saw that a bucket filled with ice and bottles of Nitroade had been left beside the Nitroade team's marquee. Grinning mischievously, Lightning quietly removed the Nitroade before he placed the bucket of ice on his hood. He then drove over to Junior and Bobby. Since neither Junior nor Bobby had any rear-view mirrors, they failed to see Lightning sneaking up behind them. All of a sudden, a shower of freezing cold water was dumped over them both!

"F***ing hell!" Bobby screamed.

"Son of a bitch!" Junior screeched at the same time.

"Hey! Don't insult my mother!" Lightning retorted cheekily as he tossed the empty bucket aside. Junior and Bobby spun around to face Lightning.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" Bobby demanded to know.

"Just breaking the ice," Lightning replied, grinning.

Unable to think of a decent comeback to Lightning's wit, Junior and Bobby immediately pounced on top of him, and they started mock-punching him up. Lightning collapsed onto his chassis beneath their weight.

"Oh! Hey! Go easy on me!" Lightning begged between laughs. "I've just come out of the medical centre." Junior and Bobby reluctantly got off him.

"You sure gave Jackson a run for his money out there today, Light," Bobby said as Lightning staggered back onto his tyres. "It's a shame you broke down."

"It was just an old racing injury," Lightning explained. "I'll get him next time."

"IF there's a next time," Junior added. "Jackson's not going to let you get away with what almost happened today."

"Yeah, the media is reporting that you'd have easily overtaken Jackson if you'd kept going for another lap."

Lightning stared at his friends, stunned. "Don't tell me that my race with Jackson was picked up by the media?"

"Some of them were in the grandstand," Junior confirmed. "And RSN were filming a segment in the infield when you and Cal went out onto the track. Everything was recorded."

"Everyone's wondering if you're planning to make a big comeback."

Lightning groaned in disbelief. "I'll deal with that later. Right now, let's go and have some dinner. I'm sure Tex won't mind if you join us."

Junior and Bobby followed Lightning over to the Dinoco /Rust-Eze camp, where they joined the team for dinner inside the large tent. As expected, Tex was happy to let Junior and Bobby enjoy some Dinoco hospitality, since they were best friends with Lightning and Cal. Cruz decided not to join them, preferring instead to eat her dinner with Strip and Linda.

"Uncle Strip clocked you today while you were racing Jackson," Cal told Lightning. "He said that you unofficially broke the lap record."

"Did he say anything else?" Lightning wondered.

"Only that he wouldn't mind being your Crew Chief if you ever got back into racing. He can't though, because he's an official now."

"Pity. He reminded me of Doc when he was talking to me over the radio earlier."

"I seriously hope they do go ahead with that new racing series," Bobby said, changing the subject. "That's why I came here today. Junior couldn't keep the news a secret for long."

Junior grinned. "I couldn't see the harm in telling Bobby."

"Well, I admit that I've told Sally and my step-father," Lightning admitted.

The three of them looked at Cal, silently asking him if he'd told anyone. Cal stared back at them, confused.

"What?"

Lightning, Junior and Bobby chuckled.

"Have you told anyone about getting back into racing?" Bobby asked him.

"No, of course not! I don't have anyone to tell, besides you three and Uncle Strip, and you all already know about it."

After dinner, Dr Ford reminded Lightning that he needed to go and rest in his trailer. And so, Lightning, Cal, Junior and Bobby made their way over to where the team's trailers were parked.

"I'm leaving the track tomorrow, guys," Lightning told them as they drove down the row of parked trailers. "Doctor's orders, I'm afraid."

"Figures," Junior said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you going to have your oil line repaired?" Bobby asked.

"That, and other things. I'm not sure when I'll re-join the team, but I expect that it'll at least be a month before I do."

"Just stay out of trouble, and look after yourself," Cal said. "You know Tex would…" Cal stopped talking as they arrived at Lightning's trailer.

There, placed directly behind Lightning's trailer, was a jumbo-sized adult drip pan. Stuck to the raised trailer ramp was a large sheet of paper, and written on it in large letters was, 'Use this instead of the racetrack, loser'.

As Lightning and his friends stared at the offensive material, they heard three engines drive away into the darkness. Lightning recognised one of the engines as Jackson's.

"Is that really the best he can come up with?" Junior asked rhetorically as Lightning tore down the paper. He crushed it into the asphalt with a tyre.

"Guys? This means war," Lightning declared.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 6 – Examination 

**Daimler Building Penthouse, New York City – 19 April 2018 **

Lightning sighed heavily as he peered out of his Aunt May's penthouse window. It was the same apartment he'd grown up in, but his aunt had inherited it after the death of his father. Mack had driven Lightning to New York City the day before. Lightning had been mentally prepared to meet with his childhood specialist and friend, Dr Spark, when they'd arrived. However, Dr Spark had phoned him to say that an emergency had come up, and so Lightning's appointment had been rescheduled.

Now, it was almost time for Lightning to leave for his appointment. Naturally, he was a bit nervous about what Dr Spark might find. Lightning had already rung Mack, and he was now just waiting for him to arrive. Mack had agreed to take Lightning around to Dr Spark's clinic, since Lightning had been ordered not to drive as much as possible. Glancing down out of the window again, Lightning saw Mack arriving out in front of the Daimler Building hauling his trailer. Drawing in a deep breath, Lightning moved away from the window.

"Aunt May?" Lightning called. "I'm leaving for my appointment now."

Aunt May met Lightning at the lift. "Make sure you listen carefully, and that you do exactly what Doctor Spark tells you to do."

"I know," Lightning grumbled as he pressed the button for the lift. "It's not like this is the first time I've ever been to see him." Lightning smiled slightly at his aunt. "I'll be fine. See you in a few hours."

A few minutes later, Lightning drove out of the lift on the ground floor of the Daimler Building. As a child, he'd found the opulent foyer breathtaking. However, now that he was an adult and a world-famous celebrity, the foyer no longer left him feeling spellbound. Compared to other fancy buildings he'd been in; this foyer was modest and about twenty years out of date. The chandelier, while pretty, looked too big and gaudy for the modern world.

_I'll have to ask Aunt May to see if the body corporate can modernise this foyer,_ Lightning thought as he drove outside to where Mack was parked, waiting for him.

Although Lightning had hoped to make a quick get-away with Mack, he found himself being mobbed by fans as soon as he emerged from the building. They all spoke at once, begging him for autographs and selfies.

"Guys, please!" Lightning begged. "I'm sorry, but I have things I need to do…"

"Please, just one selfie!" a pretty navy-blue convertible begged.

Before Lightning could respond, a police car's siren penetrated through the mob of noisy fans. "All right! What's going on here?" the police officer demanded to know. "You're obstructing the flow of traffic." He paused when he saw Lightning in the middle of the crowd. "Oh! It's you! I should've guessed that this mob was the result of somebody famous… All right, everyone! Move on! Let Mr McQueen get to wherever it is he needs to go."

Reluctantly, the crowd made a path for Lightning to get to his trailer. "Is it true that you're going to make a comeback in the Piston Cup?" someone called out as Lightning reversed into his trailer.

"That's for me to know and you to find out!" Lightning retorted before he pressed the button to close the ramp. "And the truth is, I don't even know," he muttered to himself after the ramp had closed.

The drive to Dr Spark's clinic was uneventful. It had been a long time since Lightning had last visited New York City, so he spent the whole trip looking out of his trailer's windows to see if anything had changed during his absence. Mack wisely kept his video link-up to the trailer on, so he could discreetly keep a close eye on his charge. He often did this without Lightning knowing, especially when he was concerned about Lightning's health. He was glad that Dr Spark's clinic was only a few blocks away from the Daimler Building. Mack breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw the building up ahead. Dr Spark's clinic was inside a twenty-storey annex to one of New York's biggest hospitals. Fortunately for Lightning, the annex had a private entrance around the back. Upon seeing Mack hauling Lightning's trailer, the security guard (a forklift) opened the gate to let him enter.

"I was told to expect you today," the security guard explained as Mack drove through the gate. Mack honked his thanks before he drove over to the semi-trailer parking area.

Lightning exhaled nervously as Mack parked. After Mack had turned off his engine, Lightning pressed the button to lower the trailer's ramp. Once Lightning had exited his trailer, he drove over to Mack.

"What'll you do while I'm having my appointment?" Lightning asked him.

"I'll just listen to my music," Mack replied. He winked knowingly at Lightning. "Go on. I know you're just stalling for time."

"You know me too well, Mack," Lightning retorted as he drove away towards the building's private entrance. Mack chuckled as he watched Lightning leave.

_I'll have to talk to Tex about getting a security guard for the kid_, Mack thought before he turned on his radio.

When Lightning arrived at Dr Spark's clinic, he wasn't surprised to find the waiting room empty, except for the receptionist. Ever since Dr Spark had been revealed to be Lightning's specialist, his list of celebrity clients had increased. As a result, he ensured that there was at least ten minutes between the end and the beginning of each of his clients' appointments. That way, the chances of his patients seeing each other was greatly reduced. It helped them keep their appointments with him confidential.

"Just wait here for a moment please, Mr McQueen," the receptionist said as soon as he entered the waiting room. "I'll let Doctor Spark know that you're here."

"Thanks," Lightning muttered.

A few minutes later, the receptionist returned to her desk, followed by Dr Spark. The aging specialist smiled at Lightning.

"Come on through, Lightning," he invited, gesturing towards his office. Once they were both inside the office, Dr Spark closed the door. He parked at his desk and he opened Lightning's budging medical file. "So… I understand from talking to Doctor Carburettor that you might need an engine overhaul…?"

"Yeah," Lightning said as he exhaled. "That's what he said."

"I saw the RSN report on you being out on the track the other day," Dr Spark said as he picked up his stethoscope. "Can you tell me what happened out there?"

"I was just mucking around with Cal to try and burn off some energy, and Jackson kinda got to me, so I decided to try and chase him down. I didn't think I could until I backfired. After that, my speed increased to over two-hundred until I blew my oil line."

"That's the same one you broke a few years ago, right?"

"Yes. Dr Carburettor fixed it temporarily, but then he told me that my engine needs to be overhauled. He also said that I shouldn't drive too much, because my oil line could break again."

"Okay… Well, it's been a while since I last examined you, so I'd like to do a full standard check-up on you first, before I look at your engine."

"Sure," Lightning agreed. "As long as there's no needles."

Dr Spark ignored Lightning's last comment. He placed the stethoscope disk against Lightning's side. He listened to Lightning's heart, lungs and fuel tank for a few minutes. Once he was satisfied, he examined Lightning's eyes, mouth and undercarriage. Finally, he weighed and measured Lightning.

"You're not doing too badly, considering you haven't been doing any racing for the past six months," Dr Spark said as he finished his examination. "You have put on a bit of weight, but that's to be expected now that you're in retirement."

"I wish I wasn't," Lightning muttered. Then, louder, he added, "If there's a chance I could return to racing, do you think I could? Physically, I mean."

"I don't see why not. Aside from your engine, you're in excellent health, considering your age…"

Lightning scowled. "Not you too! Why is it that as soon as race cars turn thirty, everyone thinks that they're done with racing?"

"I never said that. I merely said that you're in excellent health for your age. Now, let's see what you've done to your engine…" Dr Spark removed the bonnet pins before he lifted Lightning's bonnet. Lightning closed his eyes while Dr Spark poked and prodded at his engine. After a while, Dr Spark closed Lightning's bonnet with a weary sigh. "Doctor Carburettor was right to be concerned. You definitely need an engine overhaul as soon as possible. In fact, I'm surprised you're still able to drive with it the way it is."

Lightning looked sadly down at the floor. "I'm sorry. I know it's stupid, but it's just not something I tend to think about. I mean, I know it's important to look after my engine, but ever since Doc died, I've…" Lightning let his sentence hang.

Dr Spark returned to his desk and he brought up a schedule on his computer. "I understand. Now, the big question is, do you want an engine replacement or an overhaul?"

"Doctor Carburettor said that an engine replacement might cure me of my Jaguar Syndrome, because I'd have to get a less powerful engine installed. But…there is a strong chance that I could return to racing next year… The CEO is planning a new racing series for veteran racers… Oops! That's supposed to be a secret."

Dr Spark turned to face Lightning again. "Don't worry. Discretion is my middle name. In that case, an overhaul is your only option. You don't like making things easy for me, do you?" It was a rhetorical question, so Lightning stayed silent. Dr Spark turned back to his computer. "I want you to stay in New York until the surgery, so I can be close to you in case something happens."

"Like what?"

"Like your oil line breaking again, or if you have another Jaguar Syndrome attack. Basically, I want you to lay low and rest. I know you're not going to like that, but it is essential that you don't move around too much. Now, given the condition of your engine, your overhaul surgery will take at least twelve hours, but expect it to be longer. It's going to be very risky keeping you under anaesthetic for so long, especially considering your Jaguar Syndrome… I think the best thing to do is to assemble two teams of surgeons, so we can swap over halfway through. I'll also put you on sedatives a few days beforehand, so there's no risk of you fighting the anaesthetic like you did once. We simply cannot risk you waking up during the surgery. We'll also need to ensure you don't stop breathing on us again, so I might put you on an artificial lung throughout the surgery."

"An artificial lung?" Lightning whimpered.

"It's just a machine that forces you to keep breathing. It's mostly used in the ICU, but we can use it during surgery as well. I know it sounds scary, but yours won't be the first engine I've overhauled. I can schedule your surgery for next Tuesday, the twenty-third. I had another surgery scheduled for that day, but the patient has come down with the flu. I know it doesn't give us much time to prepare, but the sooner you get this surgery done, the better."

Lightning sighed heavily in agreement. "I would prefer to get it over and done with quickly."

"I knew you would. You just can't slow down for anything, can you?"

Lightning chuckled. "Hey! I wasn't named Lightning for no reason. Seriously, how long will it take me to recover?"

"At least three months. And, there's one thing that I am going to make sure you follow strictly while you're recovering. There will be absolutely no racing! Do you understand that?"

"Yes. It's not going to be easy though…"

"I know. You're a natural racer, so going against your instincts isn't going to be easy. But, if you ever want to race again, you need to follow my instructions perfectly. Now, I need to make some phone calls to organise your surgery. I'm going to write you a prescription for the sedatives. I want you to start taking them tomorrow morning. Take one in the morning, and one in the evening. That's all you need. I also want you to be prepared to spend at least a week in the hospital, starting on Monday afternoon."

Lightning nodded. "I can manage that. I'm not allowed to return to my team until I'm better anyway."

"I'm glad to see that Tex is being as firm with you as Doc was. I'll decide when you're well enough to return. Who's going to be Cruz's crew chief while you're out of action?"

"Cal. He's in training to be one anyway, but he's also keen to return to racing. So are Bobby and Junior."

"That's good to hear. I hope they're keeping you grounded."

"They are. They're great friends."

Dr Spark smiled kindly. Then, he printed out Lightning's sedative prescription. After he'd signed it, he passed it over to Lightning.

"Just remember what I said about the sedatives. Don't take more than two a day. The dosage is more than what a car your size should have. I know that it takes a lot to knock you out. You've always been highly strung."

Lightning shrugged. "That's not my fault."

"I know. I'll be in touch with you again either tonight or tomorrow with more instructions about your surgery."

"Thanks. I'll wait to hear from you then."

"Okay. I'll see you again soon then. You can get the prescription filled at the pharmacy on the ground floor."

Lightning nodded before he left the room. A few minutes later, he exited the lift on the ground floor. While he waited in the pharmacy for his prescription to be filled, he decided to phone Sally. She answered after just one ring.

"Hey, Sal!"

"_Stickers!_" Sally squealed.

"You were sitting on your phone, weren't you?"

"_Actually, I just finished talking to my mum. How are you?_"

"I've been better. I just had my appointment with Doctor Spark."

"_How did that go?_"

"I need to have surgery next Tuesday. I'm going to be on sedatives for the next few days to prepare for it."

"_Oh, Light!_" Sally sighed in sympathy. "_I'm coming to be with you._"

Lightning smiled. "I knew you would. Please, bring Blaze with you. I really miss you both."

"_I will. And, I'm desperately missing you too._"

Out of the corner of his eye, Lightning saw the pharmacist place his medicine on the counter. "I have to go now, sorry. We can talk more later tonight."

"_Okay. I love you, Stickers._"

"Love you too, Sal. Bye."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 7 – Preparations

**JFK Airport, New York City – 21 April 2018 **

"Sally! Over here!" Aunt May called when she saw the pale blue Porsche drive out of the arrivals lounge. Sally was closely followed by Gracie, a forklift who'd been a nanny to the McQueen family ever since Lightning had been born. In her arms was a wriggling little dark blue bundle. Now that he was a toddler, Blaze McQueen had become more than a handful.

Blaze squealed with frustration, so Gracie set him down on the floor. "Honestly! That kid is going to be the death of me!"

"Sorry he didn't sleep on the flight," Sally apologised. "I thought he would."

"Being married to Lightning, you should know by now that McQueens are never predictable!"

Aunt May giggled as the two women bickered. "Come on. Let's get back home. I don't want to leave Lightning for any longer than necessary."

"You haven't left him alone, have you?" Sally asked, shocked.

"No, of course not! My housekeeper is there. She's promised to keep an eye on him while she cleans the apartment. But I'm worried about the amount of sedatives his on. I phoned Dr Spark yesterday when I found out just how high the dosage was that he'd instructed Lightning to take, and he assured me that it was fine for a few days. I can't help worrying though."

"Understandably," Sally agreed.

At that moment, Gracie wailed. "Blaze! No! Don't touch that… Urgh! Now look! You've got chewing gun stuck to your tyre." Gracie scooped up the miscreant, doing her best not to get the gum stuck onto anything else. Then, she turned to face Sally. "I'd better get him cleaned up in the parents' room before we go."

Aunt May nodded in agreement. While she and Sally waited for Gracie to return with Blaze, she began pacing nervously.

"Relax, Aunt May," Sally soothed. "I'm sure Lightning will be fine. It's not like he's never been under the knife before."

"I know, but I can't help worrying. I know I've never had kids, but I was his surrogate mother for several years. I think caring for him triggered the maternal side of me."

Sally smiled sympathetically. "To tell you the truth, I'm not keen on watching Lightning's engine being dissected. I don't want to watch his surgery, but I want to be there when he wakes up."

"I feel the same. Why don't we go shopping while Lightning is being operated on? That should help take our minds off it."

"Let's hope so," Sally agreed.

A few minutes later, Gracie returned, carrying a nonchalant Blaze in her arms.

"He's fine now," Gracie told them. "We're ready to go."

It took about half an hour for the women to drive to the Daimler Building. When they entered the penthouse apartment, they found it unusually quiet and still. Aunt May's housekeeper, Alison, appeared from the kitchen.

"Oh, good! I'm so glad you're back!" Alison exclaimed with relief.

"Is everything okay?" Aunt May asked nervously.

"I think so. I'm just not used to Lightning being this quiet."

"Did someone call?" Lightning asked as he emerged from his room down the hallway.

"Dada!" Blaze squealed. Before Gracie could stop him, Blaze had pushed himself out of her arms. Lightning grinned as his young son sprinted down the marble hallway towards him. Blaze barely touched his brakes when he reached his father, which caused him to collide hood-on with his father.

"Ouch!" Lightning yelped, reversing slightly. "It's great to see you too, son."

"I've missed you," Blaze confessed as he hugged Lightning's tyre. "I wish you didn't have to work, so you could stay home with me and mum."

Lightning and Sally exchanged a glance. "Well, maybe one day you could start coming to work with me too. Would you like that?"

Blaze nodded enthusiastically. Sally groaned in dismay.

"Noooo! Stickers, remember what happened the last time I took him to a racetrack? We were almost squashed by the press!"

"Perhaps that's how they came to be known as the 'press'," Aunt May muttered.

"Can we have take-away for lunch, please, Aunt May?" Lightning begged, changing the subject.

"Depends on what you want."

"Pizza! Please! I know you don't like me having junk food, but I'm going have nothing but hospital food for at least week after tomorrow."

"Very well then," Aunt May acquiesced. "Alison? Could you please place the order? Have it delivered to the foyer. I'll go down and collect it when it arrives. The last thing we need is for the media to find out exactly where Lightning is hiding. They already know that he's in New York."

"Too late," Lightning muttered, frowning. "Those fans who mobbed me on Friday published my whereabouts online. I was just reading the comments. Some people have over-productive imaginations."

"Mack phoned me about that while you were having your appointment," Sally said. "He's already spoken to Tex about the possibility of getting you a personal bodyguard."

"What!" Lightning wailed. "No! I draw the line at that!"

Sally rolled her eyes. "If Doc was still alive, I think he'd want you to have one. In fact, we should've thought about getting security for you years ago. It's ridiculous that you can't go anywhere without someone taking your picture and selling it."

Lightning pouted. "I don't want a bodyguard, okay? Come on, Blaze. Let's go and watch the Piston Cup race. It's about to start, and I want to see if Cal can do a better job of coaching Cruz than I can."

"Coaching isn't a competition, Lightning," Aunt May called out as Lightning and Blaze disappeared into the lounge.

"It should be!" Lightning retorted.

Sally and Aunt May exchanged glances.

"So much for him being sedated," Gracie said with a shrug. "If we didn't know him better, we wouldn't be able to tell!"

…

A few hours later, the race was almost over. Sally drove into the lounge to check up on Lightning. She found him parked in front of the TV, with Blaze snuggled underneath Lightning's front right wheel well. Lightning's tire was resting lazily over Blaze's roof. The baby car was fast asleep. On Lightning's left-hand side lay a couple of empty pizza boxes on the floor. Sally picked them up to take them to the bin.

"Who's winning?" she whispered.

"Storm," Lightning hissed disdainfully. "My engine overhaul had better make me faster, or it won't be worth it. I can't wait to give that smug upstart a race he'll never forget!"

"Just like Doc did when he first met you, right?" Sally teased.

Lightning shot her such a look! Giggling, Sally made a quick escape towards the kitchen. Lightning returned his attention to the race. There were just three laps to go, and Cruz was sitting in third. Watching Jackson Storm race live on TV had given Lightning a different perspective into how the younger racer raced. The commentary was good too, except for when Chick Hicks spoke. Lightning automatically tuned him out whenever he made a comment.

As Lightning watched Jackson racing seemingly effortlessly around the track, everything suddenly clicked. He now understood why Smokey had tried to make him change his racing style. Jackson wasn't just fast – he was a front-runner, just like Lightning. In fact, the way Jackson drove made Lightning wonder if, after years of idolising Lightning as a fan, Jackson had learned how to copy most, if not all, of his racing tricks and techniques. The same tricks that Doc had taught him.

_The only difference between myself and Jackson as rookies was that I was egotistical, and he's just…nasty. And for no reason. I did absolutely nothing to him, and he was nasty to me right from the start. Just like Chick. Why? Is Jackson just jealous of me? Or is there another reason why he hates me? If there is, I'd like to know what it is. _

Lightning wasn't surprised when Jackson won the race. Cruz managed to put in a nice sprint during the final lap to finish in second place, one and a half seconds behind Jackson.

_Cal did a good job. He seems to be quite comfortable as a crew chief. I wonder if he'll return to racing, or stay on as a crew chief? _

As Chick started a post-race amble, Lightning turned off the TV. Beneath his wheel, he felt Blaze stir.

"Had a good nap, sport?" Lightning asked his young son.

Blaze belched loudly in reply. Lightning dry retched. "Oh! Gross! Blaze! I don't think you should have garlic anymore! Gracie!"

Gracie drove into the lounge just as Lightning threw open the door leading to the balcony. A fresh blast of cool spring air blew into the apartment. Lightning waved a tyre in front of his mouth.

"Blaze just belched," Lightning explained. "And he reeks!"

Gracie sniffed Blaze and immediately regretted it. "Yuck! You're coming to the bathroom with me. We need to get all that gas out of your system. You need to learn not to gobble your food, young man!"

After Gracie had carried Blaze out of the room, Lightning raced around spraying the room with air freshener. Just when he'd satisfied himself that there was no more eau-de-garlic in the lounge, his phone rang. Lightning answered it immediately.

"_Lightnin'? It's Tex._"

"Hi Tex," Lightning replied, trying desperately hard not to sneeze as he accidentally inhaled some of the floating mist from the air freshener. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop the reflex. "ACHOO!"

"_Bless ya,_" Tex said automatically. There was a pause before he spoke again. "_I hope you're not comin' down with somethin'?_"

"No. It was just some air freshener I accidentally inhaled. I forgot how stinky babies can be."

Tex chuckled. "_Rather you than me. Did you watch the race?_"

"Yeah… I haven't watched a race live on TV for a long time. It gave me a new perspective on how Jackson races."

"_And Cruz too, I hope?_"

"I know how she races."

"_Do you? Really?_" Tex waited for Lightning to say something. When he didn't, Tex continued. "_I just rang to wish you luck for your surgery. I spoke to Doctor Spark yesterday, an' he's explained it all to me. I've decided to come to New York tomorrow. I… if anything bad happens, I want to be amongst the first to know._"

Lightning gulped slowly. "Sheesh! Way to make me feel better, Tex…"

"_Sorry. I really do care about ya, Light. We all do. The next race is at Dover International Speedway, so I'm sure the entire team would love to visit you after you've had your surgery. Would that be okay with you?_"

"Absolutely! As long as nothing ends up on social media. I don't want anyone to know about my surgery, except for those who need to know."

"_Understandably. I'll make sure that everyone knows that before they decide to visit. Take care, Light, an' I'll see you tomorrow._"

"Okay Tex. Bye."

"_Bye, Lightnin'._"

Lightning hung up his phone with a sigh. Then, he drove outside onto the balcony, overlooking the Manhattan skyline. He drew in a deep breath of fresh air to help calm his nerves.

_Guess my sedative is starting to wear off. I'll stay out here for a few more minutes to watch the sunset. Who knows when I'll get to watch one again? _

…

The following afternoon, Lightning found himself inside a private hospital room, surrounded by the team of surgeons who were going to perform his engine overhaul the following day. They were poking and prodding at his engine, so they could see for themselves what needed to be done. Lightning didn't have much choice. Dr Spark had clamped all four of his wheels to the bed, so he couldn't move. He'd also put Lightning on oxygen via a mask, to help keep him quiet and calm while the surgeons examined him.

Lightning finally groaned with frustration. Keeping completely still was not something that came naturally to him. Dr Spark placed a reassuring tyre against Lightning's side.

"Easy, Lightning," Dr Spark soothed. "They're almost done. Just close your eyes and think about something else."

Lightning followed Dr Spark's suggestion. In his mind's eye, he saw himself chasing Jackson Storm on a racetrack. And he was gaining on him, easily. The though made Lightning smile slightly.

"Okay, we're done," one of the surgeons announced as he closed Lightning's hood. Lightning jumped and opened his eyes when he felt his hood close.

_And not a moment too soon!_ Lightning thought with relief as Dr Spark removed the oxygen mask from Lightning's face. "About time! Can I get up again now, please?"

Dr Spark shook his front. "Uh, uh! You need to keep still now. We can't risk you doing something stupid to your oil line again. I know I'm expecting the impossible but try to relax. I'll send a nurse in shortly to get you set up on an I.V."

Lightning whimpered. "Can't that wait until later?"

"Sorry. I know how much you hate needles, but since you can't have anything to eat or drink again until after the surgery, we need to keep you hydrated somehow. I'll send your friends and family back in."

Dr Spark left the room, followed by the team of surgeons. After a few minutes, Sally, Aunt May and Tex drove into the room. They smiled sympathetically at Lightning.

"I guess clamping your wheels is the only way they can keep you from wriggling," Tex quipped.

Lightning bristled. "You have no idea how frustrating this is for me right now…"

"Right. Sorry."

"I wish Gracie could have brought Blaze here to see me," Lightning pouted.

"We've already discussed that, Stickers," Sally said. "Blaze could tear this place apart if he escaped from Gracie."

Lightning chuckled quietly in agreement. "Yeah, I know… I think he's going to take after me when he grows up."

"That wouldn't surprise any of us," Aunt May agreed.

A forklift nurse drove into the room then. She quietly set to work setting up the I.V. equipment. Nobody spoke while the nurse went about her work. Once she'd finished setting up the equipment, the nurse picked up Lightning's medical chart.

"Right, Mr McQueen… It seems that Doctor Spark wants you to have a saline I.V., and the same dose of sedative that you've been having lately."

Lightning groaned in dismay. "I'm tired of being sedated."

"It won't be for much longer," Aunt May reassured him.

Following Dr Spark's instructions, the nurse inserted the I.V. needle into an oil line in Lightning's front left wheel arch. Lightning yelped when he felt the prick, but since his wheels were still clamped, he couldn't move much or avoid it.

"Ow! Why do doctors and nurses love stabbing me?" Lightning whined. "I feel like a pincushion."

The nurse ignored his whinging, and continued setting up the I.V. Once she was satisfied that the saline solution was flowing nicely, she prepared Lightning's sedative.

"I think we should go now," Tex suggested. "I'm getting' hungry."

"Yes, we'll see you when you wake up from your surgery tomorrow," Aunt May agreed. She planted a kiss on Lightning's cheek. "Make sure you behave yourself."

"I will, Aunt May," Lightning promised.

Sally kissed Lightning on the lips. Their kiss lasted longer than it usually did, but nobody minded. Everyone could clearly see the passion between the famous couple. Finally, Sally reluctantly broke off the kiss. Tears had filled her eyes.

"I love you, Stickers. More than you'll ever know."

"I love you too, Sal," Lightning whispered. "I hope you'll be the first one I see when I wake up,"

"I'll try to be here when you do," Sally promised.

"I'm taking your family shopping tomorrow, to help distract them while you're undergoing your operation," Aunt May explained.

Lightning smiled his thanks. He watched in silence as Tex, Sally and Aunt may drove out of his hospital room. Once they were alone, the nurse cleared her throat to get Lightning's attention. She placed a plate with a pill in front of his mouth.

"Please, take your sedative, Mr McQueen."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me. **

Chapter 8 – Surgery and Recovery

**New York City – 22 April 2018, 7pm **

Lightning exhaled shakily as he made himself comfortable on the operating table. He was extremely nervous about his operation, which was scheduled to start shortly. The first team of surgeons entered the operating theatre, fully covered in hospital scrubs. Nearby, Lightning could see a small crane that would be used to lift his engine out of his engine bay. Another operating table was standing ready on the other side of the room. He guessed that that would be where his engine would be taken apart, overhauled, and reassembled. A 3D scan of Lightning's engine was projected on a large computer screen. Since his engine was one-of-a-kind, the surgeons needed to know exactly how it all fitted together.

Dr Spark drove into the operating room. Like the others, he was also wearing hospital scrubs. He went over to Lightning. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," Lightning replied honestly.

Dr Spark smiled sympathetically. "All I can promise is that we'll do our best."

Another doctor, a forklift, drove over to Lightning. He held up a respirator mask. "Hi Lightning. I'm Doctor Pace, and I'll be your anaesthetist. I'm just going to put this mask over your mouth, and then I want you to start counting backwards from ten, okay?"

Lightning swallowed nervously, but then he nodded. Dr Pace fitted the respirator mask over Lightning's mouth, and he started the anaesthetic.

"Just relax," Dr Pace instructed.

Lightning inhaled deeply. "Ten…nine…eight…sev…" And with that, he fell asleep.

Dr Pace monitored Lightning's vitals for a few minutes, to ensure that he was stabilised. He was just about to give the surgeons the okay to start when he saw Lightning's eyelid twitch.

"Lightning?" he called softly.

"Is something wrong?" Dr Spark asked.

"He seems to be fighting the anaesthetic."

A small groan escaped from Lightning's lips. Had the room not been so quiet, the doctors might have missed it.

"He's done that before," Dr Spark said. "Just be very careful when you increase the anaesthetic. He stopped breathing once when that happened while I was operating on him."

Dr Pace cautiously increased the anaesthetic by half a milligram. Luckily, it was enough. Lightning stopped twitching and his breathing became slow and even. Everyone in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. Then, with Dr Pace's permission, the team set to work.

…

"Lightning? Stickers? Can you hear me?"

Sally's sweet voice snapped Lightning out of the deep blackness that had enveloped him. He wanted to respond to her, but he felt too comfortable to move.

"Keep talking to him," a male voice instructed.

Doc? No, it can't be him… Can it? What's going on?

"Doc?" Lightning whispered. However, because he was still so out of it, he wasn't sure if he'd actually spoken, or only imagined that he had.

"Doc isn't here, Stickers," Sally told him, confirming that Lightning had indeed spoken. "Can you try and open your eyes for me, please?"

Lightning groaned tiredly. He just wanted to go back to sleep. A shiver raced through his body, making him gasp.

"C-cold…"

A pre-heated blanket was thrown over Lightning's body. He moaned contently as it warmed him. But then, a wave of nausea hit him. He groaned as his breathing rate increased.

"Feel…sick…"

Someone pushed a vomit pan in front of him. Lightning dry-wretched. There was nothing in his tank for him to throw up. He felt strangely empty. And internally clean. It was a weird feeling.

"Will he be all right?" Sally asked. Lightning could hear the worry in her voice.

"Yes. Post-operatic nausea is a common side-effect of the anaesthetic," the male in the room explained. Lightning finally recognised his voice. It was Dr Spark.

"Is it over?" Lightning asked as he tried to open his eyes. "The surgery?"

Dr Spark smiled slightly when he saw Lightning blink open his eyes. "Yes, it's all over. And, so far, it was successful. You have a lot of new parts installed, and everything else has in your system been thoroughly cleaned. I imagine that you probably feel a bit strange now, right?"

Lightning nodded slowly. Then, he dry-wretched again. Shuddering, he closed his eyes. "I feel so sick…"

A straw was pressed against Lightning's lips. He opened his eyes to find Dr Spark offering him a drink of a clear liquid. Think that it was just water, Lightning took a sip. But it wasn't water. It was baby oil. Lightning stared at Dr Spark, confused.

"Because your system has been entirely cleaned out, and your engine recalibrated, it's going to need a few days to recover from the shock," Dr Spark explained. "But you still need to get some oil back into your system as quickly as possible to settle the nausea. So, baby oil is the best thing for you right now."

Lightning took another sip of the baby oil. What Dr Spark said made sense. His engine overhaul had made his entire system the same as a newly built baby car. And since baby cars could only digest baby oil for the first six months of their life, his system was now much the same.

After a few more sips, Lightning felt more awake. He looked over at Sally and smiled. "Hey, babe. You look so hot!"

Sally gave an embarrassed chuckle. Dr Spark winked. "That's just the anaesthetic talking."

"No, it's not!" Lightning protested. His voice slurred slightly. "Come here, Sal. I want to feel your tongue down my throat."

"Yep, that's the drugs talking all right," Sally agreed. "You hate French kissing, Lightning."

"Maybe not as much as he says he does," Dr Spark chuckled. "Come on, Sally. Lightning needs to rest now."

"But, I'm not tired," Lightning protested, despite his eyelids half drooping.

"Go back to sleep, Lightning," Sally instructed. "I'll see you again tomorrow."

Lightning's eyes had closed before Sally and Dr Spark had even left the room.

…

Over the following four weeks, Lightning continued to recover from his surgery in the hospital. He was kept sedated most of the time, because when he was awake, he was restless and ravenous. His brain craved solid food, but Dr Spark would only allow him to drink baby oil. He knew that Lightning's system wasn't ready for solid food yet. For his part, Lightning tried to be patient and cooperative with Dr Spark's instructions.

Eventually, the day came when Dr Spark determined that Lightning's engine had recovered enough for him to try and start it. Lightning almost squealed when he was told the good news.

"Finally! So, will I be allowed to drive around again?"

"Maybe not today," Dr Spark replied. "Today, I just want you to try turning over your engine, and we'll see how you feel after that."

Lightning felt nervous excitement when he was moved into an examination room. Most of his surgical team had gathered in there, just in case something went wrong. Lightning was offered a drink of standard oil. While he drank it, two nurses filled up his fuel tank with the lowest grade of fuel that his engine needed to function properly. Dr Spark refused to let Lightning have any racing fuel, since he knew it would send his RPMs racing. His engine just wasn't ready to handle that yet. They needed to take Lightning's recovery process slowly.

Once Lightning's tank was half-full, the nurse removed the can. Dr Spark had placed sensors on Lightning's hood, so he could monitor his engine.

"Okay, Lightning," he said. "You may start up your engine when you're ready. It may take you several tries to get it going."

Lightning nodded. Then, he attempted to turn on his engine. It took him four attempts to start his engine, because the fuel needed time to flow from his tank into his engine. As soon as the spark plugs ignited the fuel, Lightning's engine roared into life. It was so loud, everyone inside the room cringed and moved back. Dr Spark motioned with a tyre for Lightning to cut his engine. Lightning reluctantly did so.

"How do you feel?" Dr Spark asked once the room was quiet again.

"Fantastic!" Lightning exclaimed. "Can I go for a short drive, please? I'm so tired of standing still!"

"Tomorrow," Dr Spark promised. "I want to monitor your engine over the next few hours. I know you're restless, but you need to take things slowly for now."

Lightning shifted restlessly. He knew that Dr Spark was right, but everything within him itched to move. Even a short drive would satisfy him. Instead, he was taken back to his hospital room, where he found Sally and Tex waiting for him.

"Hey!" Sally greeted him. "We were just wondering where you were. The nurse said you were undergoing tests or something."

"I just had him turn on his engine," Dr Spark explained. "Everything's looking good. I just need to keep monitoring him for now. See if you can distract him. He's pretty restless."

"He's definitely recovering then," Tex remarked.

"When can I go home?" Lightning asked.

"When I say you can," Dr Spark replied firmly. He turned to Sally. "Try and get him to sleep, please. He's going to be more tired than he realises after this."

Sally nodded in understanding. Sure enough, Lightning was already getting settled down for a nap when Dr Spark left the room.

"So, what am I missing?" Lightning asked Tex. "How's Cal going with Cruz?"

"Quite well, I think. They seem to be getting along, and Cruz has been placing in the top ten. It will take time for them to find a system that works for them though."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed. He remembered how hard it had been for him to adjust to each change in Crew Chief that he'd gone through during his rookie year. In hindsight, he really hadn't given then enough time to get used to him, and vice versa. He was lucky that he and Doc had clicked almost immediately. "Has there been any updates about the new racing series?"

"Not officially, but I did have a meeting with Justin Swerve a couple of weeks ago. He wants you and Cal to be there for the official launch."

"So, it is going ahead then?"

"At this stage, yes. Most of the sponsors have agreed to re-hire former racers for the series if it goes ahead. Most of them will probably start on a one-year contract though."

Lightning nodded sleepily. He tried to suppress a yawn and failed. Sally drove forward and she planted a loving kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Stickers."

"I love you too, Sal," Lightning whispered. He yawned again before closing his eyes. He hated to admit it, but Dr Spark had been right. The effort of turning over his engine had left him exhausted. Minutes later, he fell asleep.


End file.
